Single-port laparoscopic percutaneous closure of the internal ring for scarless repair of inguinal hernias in girls

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to summarize the clinical experience with laparoscopic percutaneous extraperitoneal closure of the internal ring using an epidural needle for inguinal hernias in girls.

Material and methods

A total of 462 girls with inguinal hernias participated in this study from January 2013 to June 2019. Laparoscopic percutaneous extraperitoneal closure of the internal ring via an epidural needle was used to treat these patients.

Results

All 462 girls with an inguinal hernia successfully underwent laparoscopic surgery. The operative times for unilateral and bilateral inguinal hernias were 15 (11–25) minutes and 23 (18–33) minutes, respectively. All patients were discharged 1–2 days after the operations. During the hospitalization and follow-up periods, none of the following complications were observed: hernia recurrence, umbilical hernia, abdominal wall vascular injury, intestinal injury or bladder injury. However, there were six patients with complications: two cases of poor healing of the umbilical incision, three cases of suture granulomas and one case of groin traction pain and discomfort.

Conclusion

Laparoscopic percutaneous extraperitoneal closure of the internal ring using an epidural needle is a safe and feasible method for the treatment of inguinal hernias in girls. This method has the advantages of limited trauma, no scarring and a good cosmetic effect.

Keywords:

• Laparoscopic surgery
• inguinal hernia
• girls
• scarless surgery

Acknowledgements

We highly acknowledge the contribution by the participating doctors: Yi-fan Fang, Bing Zhang, Ming-kun Liu, Jian-xi Bai, Wen-chen Xu, Yuan-bin He.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study was approved by the ethics committee of our university and strictly adhered to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki.In addition, all patients’ guardians signed an informed consent form before the operation.

Consent for publication

All authors read and approved the final manuscript and publication.

Declaration of interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).