Recurrence After Minimally Invasive Repair of Inguinal Hernia: Incidence and Associated Factors

Abstract Background Minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery for inguinal hernia allows an approach to the entire myopectineal orifice, leading to an expected lower recurrence rate and/or incidence of occult hernias. Nevertheless, the literature reports recurrence rates of up to 12%, depending on the reported follow-up time. Methods Retrospective analysis of laparoscopic surgical corrections of inguinal hernias between January 2018 and March 2023. Evaluation of recurrence rate and factors associated with its development. Results During the analyzed period, 388 patients underwent laparoscopic surgical correction of inguinal hernia. In 183 patients, the surgical correction was bilateral, corresponding to 571 operated hernias (82% via TAPP and 18% via TEP). During an average follow-up of 22 months (6–65), the recurrence rate was 2.1%, diagnosed on average 14 months after surgery. The presence of postoperative wound complications and chronic pain were the only factors significantly associated with recurrence (p = 0.026, p 0.001, respectively). Factors such as gender (p = 0.155), age (p = 0.13), BMI (p = 0.3), smoking (p = 0.52), technique used (p = 0.391), recurrent hernia (p = 0.42) did not show an association with hernia recurrence. In multivariate analysis, the presence of postoperative complications was the only independent risk factor for recurrence (p = 0.04, OR 4). Conclusion In our study, the recurrence rate aligns with what is described in the literature. Limitations include the fact that only patients who returned to our hospital were diagnosed, and the short follow-up time in some cases. The learning curve of surgeons, both residents and specialists, during the implementation of the technique in our service may also impact these results.