Optimal timing of surgery for inguinal hernia in premature neonates

Aim

The surgical repair of inguinal hernias represents a significant risk for premature infants. Despite ongoing discourse, the optimal approach to hernia management remains contentious. Our investigation aims to establish the most favourable timing for inguinal repair in premature neonates.

Patients and Methods

Our investigation involved the analysis of medical records for 536 neonates, born prematurely, who underwent inguinal hernia repair from January 2018 to December 2023. We dichotomised the cohort into two groups: those who received early repair and those who underwent late repair. The timing of the surgery was primarily determined by the surgeon's decision, in conjunction with familial consent to the surgical intervention. The primary endpoints were the incidence of recurrence or incarceration within 1 year after surgery. The secondary endpoints encompassed length of neonatal intensive care unit stay, post-operative ventilator dependency, and frequency of return visits, whether to the inpatient and emergency department or an outpatient clinical setting, for hernia-related issues.

Results

The analysis encompassed a total of 454 neonates born prematurely, of which 163 underwent early repair, while 291 received late repair for inguinal hernia. The demographic data between the two groups demonstrated no significant differences. The occurrences of hernia recurrence and post-operative apnoea presented similar trends across both cohorts. Notably, the late repair group exhibited an increased incidence of preoperative incarceration and return visits due to hernia complications. In this group, testicular atrophy or ovarian necrosis was observed in five cases, despite the overall absence of significant differences.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that the surgical repair of inguinal hernia in preterm neonates, performed at the time of presentation to our clinics, is both safe and feasible. However, a delay in hernia repair appears to be associated with a heightened risk of severe complications, such as testicular atrophy or ovarian necrosis.