Right-side approach to enter Retzius space effective in laparoscopic TAPP bilateral inguinal hernia repair

Retrospective analysis was performed on 189 patients who were diagnosed with bilateral inguinal hernia preoperatively or intraoperatively and underwent selective laparoscopic transabdominal preperitoneal bilateral inguinal hernia repair in the General Surgery I Section of Shaanxi Provincial People’s Hospital from January 2015 to September 2020. 94 cases were performed using the right-side approach (research group), and 95 cases with conventional approach (control group). Intraoperative and postoperative conditions of the two groups were observed and compared.

Results

All operation were completed successfully.

The operative time of research group was significantly shorter than that of control group

There were no significant differences in postoperative hospital stay, VAS score on first postoperative day, incidence of seroma and hematoma, urinary retention and other complications (P > 0.05).

None of the patients occured hernia recurrence, mesh infection, intestinal obstruction and other complications.

The right-side approach to enter Retzius space is safe and feasible in laparoscopic transabdominal preperitoneal  surgery of bilateral inguinal hernia. Compared with the conventional approach, it can shorten the operative time and has certain advantages.

Further it effectively shortens the operative time without increasing the incidence of complications. Since this study is a retrospective cohort study, there may be selection bias, which requires further verification by prospective large sample study

Reference:

Tian, L., Zhang, L., Li, Z. et al. A new approach to enter Retzius space in laparoscopic transabdominal preperitoneal bilateral inguinal hernia repair. BMC Surg 23, 26 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12893-023-01917-8