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Inguinal hernia: keyhole or open surgery?
I have a left-side inguinal hernia. I have been given the option of open or keyhole surgery. Has anyone had experience – good or bad – of either type for a one-side hernia? I’m told the time to get back on my feet may be slightly faster with keyhole, but only by about 24 hours. Any recommendations? Thanks.
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4 Replies
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My surgeon felt that short-term recovery was better with open than lap. That surprised me, since the studies I read didn’t seem to support this. However, my surgeon made a small incision and my early post-operative pain was quite a bit less intense than I expected. I was able to manage the pain effectively with ibuprofen and ice by the second day after the surgery. I could have returned to work after a week – but decided to not push it and took two.
I really think long-term discomfort and pain are the bigger concerns with this surgery, because of the quality of life implications. I don’t see a preponderance of evidence that lap is superior to open in this area.
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Unfortunately I’ve had both procedures. The open procedure involves a lot more intense, localized pain the first week. The scope procedure produces more collateral damage around the pubic area but less initial pain. The unfortunate 10-20% that develop chronic mesh complications really suffer. If I had to do it I would do the open procedure but only at a specialized clinic like shouldice or desearda as their recurrence rates are low.
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Hi Good Intentions:
Yes, I saw your response to my previous post and replied to it. I am not being offered anything other than mesh. The only option is keyhole (laparoscopic) or open. From what you say, I’m not sure if there are any real advantages to open surgery over keyhole, except possibly that they use less mesh. Is that true? There does not seem to be an overall consensus from people who have had a unilateral inguinal hernia as to side or long-term effects. Thanks! -
I commented in your other thread. Don’t know if you saw it.
There is quite a bit of discussion all over the internet about the two types of hernia repair. Focusing on the short term could be a huge mistake. If it was war-time and you needed to get back to the battlefield, then paying a long-term price for a rapid return to action might make sense. Otherwise, you’re trading days for years. It makes no sense at all to even talk about it. The fact that a faster recovery is used as a selling point, while long-term issues are ignored, is disingenuous and could be considered unethical.
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