Preperitoneal inguinal hernia repair during pelvic surgery.

OBJECTIVES We report our experience with posterior preperitoneal prosthetic herniorrhaphy for inguinal hernia in patients undergoing concomitant pelvic surgery for both benign and malignant urological pathologies. METHODS 116 patients with either unilateral or bilateral inguinal hernia underwent posterior preperitoneal prosthetic herniorrhaphy during a pelvic operation for various urological pathologies. The technique described by Mahorner and Goss was used for unilateral hernia, while the modified Stoppa technique was used for bilateral hernia. RESULTS All patients had a complication-free peri- and post-operative course, except for one patient who developed a spontaneously resolving small peri-prosthetic hematoma. In the follow-up of all patients (mean 35.7 months, range 4-72) we did not observe any hernia recurrence. CONCLUSIONS Posterior preperitoneal prosthetic inguinal herniorrhaphy during pelvic surgery for urological pathologies is a relatively simple and safe procedure to perform and a recurrence rate of zero, or very close to zero, is to be expected.