Trends in the utilization of inguinal hernia repair techniques: A population-based study

摘要

Background: The use of inguinal hernia repair techniques in the community setting is poorly understood. Methods: A retrospective review of all inguinal hernia repairs performed on adult residents of Olmsted County, MN, from 1989 to 2008 was performed through the Rochester Epidemiology Project. Results: A total of 4,433 inguinal hernia repairs among 3,489 individuals were reviewed. Nonmesh-based repairs predominated in the late 1980s (94% in 1989), declined throughout the 1990s (40% in 1996), and are rarely used nowadays (4% in 2008). Open mesh-based repairs comprised 21% in 1990, peaked in 2001 with 72%, and declined to 55% in 2008. The adoption of laparoscopic repairs began in 1992 (6%) and has increased steadily to 41% in 2008 (P <.001). Conclusions: Although nonmesh-based repairs, once the predominant method, have been supplanted by open mesh-based techniques, nowadays the use of laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair techniques has increased substantially to nearly equal that of open mesh-based techniques.