A Comparative Study of Laparoscopic Extraperitoneal and Transabdominal Preperitoneal Herniorrhaphy

ABSTRACT Laparoscopic minimally invasive surgical procedures are gaining popularity. Laparoscopic hernia repair is now less controversial and more readily acceptable, with at present numerous technical modifications described in an attempt to define the best procedure. Between November 1992 and February 1995, a nonrandomized trial of laparoscopic inguinal herniorrhaphy was performed on 115 patients with a total of 120 hernias. Of these 58 patients with 60 hernias underwent the transabdominal preperitoneal patch repair (TAPP) without plug and 57 patients with a total of 60 hernias were offered the extraperitoneal (EXTRA) approach using a distension balloon. The average operative time was 55 min for the TAPP and 50 min for the EXTRA procedure. The overall recurrence rate was 1.7% with a follow up of 1–27 months. The recurrence rate was 3.4% for the TAPP and none for the EXTRA approach. All patients returned to their normal activity within 1 week of discharge. Patients undergoing the EXTRA repair consumed le...