Comparison of inguinal hernia repair outcomes between open and laparoscopic approaches in a pediatric population: a retrospective cohort study

Purpose: Many studies compared the outcomes of hernia repair in children between open and laparoscopic techniques.However, the results still need to be clarified.Moreover, the reports from developing countries are also limited.Methods: We compared the outcomes of hernia repair between the open and laparoscopic techniques in children and associated them with risk factors.Results: We involved 92 children, consisting of laparoscopy (36 males and 10 females) and open (42 males and 4 females) methods.There was a significant difference between 2 groups regarding the gestational age and age at surgery (both P < 0.001).Laparoscopy had a shorter length of stay (LOS) than the open group (1.09 ± 0.28 days vs. 1.37 ± 0.57 days, P = 0.004), while the duration of surgery was similar in both groups (P = 0.801).Multivariate analysis revealed no significant association between the recurrence of hernia and risk factors, including the surgical procedure, sex, age at surgery, and prematurity (P > 0.05).Conclusion: Laparoscopic surgery might have a beneficial effect on shorter LOS compared with open hernia repair.None of the risk factors is significantly associated with hernia recurrence after repair.A further prospective multicenter study with a larger sample size is necessary to clarify our findings.