Cost Effectiveness of Desarda Repair as Compared to Mesh Hernioplasty in Inguinal Hernia

Background: Inguinal hernia repair is one of the most common surgical procedures performed. In the past many surgeons described their techniques of hernia repair including Bassini, Shouldice and McVay etc. However, Mesh repair by far has established its place as the gold standard treatment for inguinal hernias. In 2001, Dr. M.P. Desarda came up with his method using the transposition of external oblique sheath to strengthen the posterior wall of inguinal canal and obtained excellent results comparable to those of mesh repair. Keeping in view the advantages of this method we adopted this surgical procedure in our set up. Objective: To estimate the benefit of cost reduction in Desarda repair. Study Design: Observational Study. Settings: Surgical Department, DHQ Hospital Faisalabad Pakistan. Duration: One-year duration from January 2017 to December 2017. Methodology: In year 2017, a total of 413 patients were operated in surgical unit DHQ hospital Faisalabad using mesh repair. The record was obtained from the elective list register and record room. The data was entered on a special protocol Performa and analyzed on SPSS version 23. Results: A total number of 413 hernioplasties were performed during the study period and it was observed that 1.45 million PKR could have been saved in public sector health facility. Conclusion: By practicing the Desarda repair which gives comparable post-operative results to mesh repair, we can avoid the poly propylene mesh repair resulting in saving handsome budget in public sector hospitals of Pakistan.