Resultados en 196 hernioplastias con

SUMMARY The Lichtenstein's technique (LT) for hernia repair has become popular due to its good results. We adopted this technique in 1997. The goal of this report is to present the results of LT. The medical records of 178 patients submitted to inguinal hernia repair with the LT between January and December 1998 were reviewed. The series is composed of 147 males (83%) and 31 females (17%, with an average age of 59 years (range 15-86). A total of 196 hernias were repaired; of them, 83 (42%) were direct, 78 (40%) were indirect, 12 (6%) were inguino-scrotal and 12 (6%) were mixed. In 11 patients (6%), the hernia was a recurrence. Local anesthesia was used in 115 (64%) cases, regional anesthesia was used in 49 (28%) cases and general anesthesia was used in 14 (8%) of the cases. Average hospital stay was 1.38 days. In 24% of the cases surgery was performed as an outpatient procedure. The most frequent early complications were 7 seromas and 6 operative wound infections. Follow up was complete in 62% of the cases with a range of 3.5 to 4.5 years. Late complications were 1 neuralgia and 3 recurrences.