A Retrospective Study of Pediatric Patients with Inguinal Hernia in a Tertiary Hospital in Somalia

Background: Inguinal hernia is one of the most prevalent reasons for transfer to the pediatric surgery department. The incidence varies from 0.8–4.4% of term babies and up to 30% of preterm babies. Surgery for inguinal hernia has become one of the most frequently carried out operations, with better outcomes and very few complications. Methods: This is a retrospective cross-sectional study of all children diagnosed with inguinal hernia (under 15 years of age) was conducted from April 1 th , 2018 to July 31 th , 2022, in a tertiary hospital in Mogadishu, Somalia. All cases of inguinal hernia are operated on using a modified Ferguson surgical technique. Results: During the 51 mounts, 119 cases with inguinal hernia were operated. 94.1% of cases (n=112) were male and 5.9% (n=7) of were female; the ratio of inguinal hernia from male to female was 16:1. The right side was slightly more common and the proportion of bilaterally affected cases was about 6.7%. The median age at presentation was 52 months, and the mean waiting period for patients to be operated on was 2 months. The rate of incarcerated cases was 4.2%. Infants had a greater risk of incarceration than other children.The total wound infection and recurrence rates following surgery were 1.6% and 0.8%, respectively. Conclusion: Babies with inguinal hernias are at an increased risk of incarceration and it would be wise to consider surgery soon, depending on current waiting lists. Surgical therapy should be performed as soon as possible to minimize associated morbidities and mortality.