Percutaneous hernia repair in children: Safe to introduce.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: In 2014 we introduced percutaneous internal ring suture as an alternative to open surgery for the treatment of inguinal hernia. This study aims to evaluate the introduction of the procedure at our institution. METHODS: In total, 100 consecutive patients operated with percutaneous internal ring suture were compared with 100 consecutive patients operated with open surgery. The patients were operated from August 2014 until November 2017. Patient demographics, clinical history, operative time, time in theater, and postoperative complications were extracted from charts. RESULTS: The mean operative time for percutaneous internal ring suture was 26.54 min and for open surgery 39.94 min, P < 0.0001. The total mean operative theater time for percutaneous internal ring suture was 108.95 min and for open surgery 118.4 min, P = 0.0343. During follow-up, two percutaneous internal ring sutures were operated for recurrent hernia. In the open surgery-group, three patients were operated for recurrent hernia, three for secondary testicular retention, and three for metachronous contralateral hernia. CONCLUSIONS: Even when established as a new technique, the percutaneous internal ring suture procedure is safe and results in shorter operative time and shorter theater time compared to open surgery.