The effect of previous lower abdominal surgery on performing the total extraperitoneal approach to laparoscopic herniorrhaphy.

At Georgia Baptist Medical Center in Atlanta, GA, we adopted the total extraperitoneal approach (TEPA) to laparoscopic herniorrhaphies because of the concerns of potential early and late complications associated with entering the abdominal cavity. In our institution, the TEPA has compared favorably with the transabdominal approach, with lower complication and recurrence rates. There has been concern, however, in performing the TEPA in patients with previous lower abdominal surgery. The question has been raised that there is increased risk of complications in these patients. From June 1993 to May 1994, we performed 247 laparoscopic herniorrhaphies in 192 patients using the TEPA. Of these, 55 hernias were repaired in 45 patients with previous lower abdominal surgery. Overall retrospective results showed a slightly higher complication rate (23.1% vs 11.3%) and slightly higher recurrence rate (1.8% vs 0%) in the patients with previous surgery over those without. Although these differences are not statistically significant, it is important to keep these risks in mind when selecting the appropriate hernia repair for each patient.