Inguinal herniorrhaphy under local anesthesia: a study of intraoperative tolerance.

Tolerance to inguinal hernia repair under local anesthesia was prospectively evaluated in a consecutive series of 41 patients who underwent hernia repair with local infiltration of 0.75 per cent lidocaine. Intraoperative discomfort was measured by an analog visual scale. All complications were also recorded. Mean intraoperative pain was mild (1.6 +/- 1.4). There were two complications. Wound infection and wound hematoma occurred in one patient each. There was no operative mortality. Normal diet was tolerated the day of surgery in 39 patients, and 30 were discharged from the hospital on the same day. Our series supports good tolerance and a low complication rate when inguinal herniorrhaphy is performed under local anesthesia.