Electrocoagulation Employment During TAPP Inguinal Hernia Repair

Worldwide, more than 20 million patients undergo inguinal hernia repair annually. Laparoscopic hernia repair presents a minimally invasive surgical procedure, which tends to be a gold standard for inguinal hernia repair. In comparison with open techniques of hernia repair, TAPP approach requires a totally different anatomic point of view. The operating surgeon must understand the basic principles and technical key points of TAPP in order to ensure satisfactory surgical outcomes and to prevent the occurrence of complications.

Postoperative neuralgia presents a troublesome complication following TAPP, which occurs in 0.2-7% of patients. Neuralgia is caused by intraoperative injury of genitofemoral, ilioinguinal, iliohypogastric or cutaneous femoris lateralis nerves (genitofemoral nerve being is the most often damaged). During TAPP, the most frequent causes of neural injury include clip application, inappropriate use of electrocoagulation or dangerous tissue dissection. At present, the employment of modern self-gripping meshes and tissue glues leave the use of electrocoagulation the main risk factor for potential nerve injury.

The aim of the proposed project is to evaluate postoperative pain (postoperative neuralgia) in patients undergoing TAPP inguinal hernia repair with/without the use of electrocoagulation. The assessment of the pain in the groin region will be performed on the 2nd and 7th postoperative day by means of clinical examination and by fulfilling the visual scale of pain. In patients showing clinical signs of postoperative neuralgia on the 7th postoperative day, clinical examination by an experienced neurologist will be performed.

Inclusion criteria

• age ≥18 years
• unilateral inguinal hernia
• no previous intraabdominal operations
• no history of neurological diseases

Exclusion criteria

• recurrent inguinal hernia
• bilateral inguinal hernia
• history of chronic pain syndrome
• preoperative ASA classification IV-V