Via Reuters: Findings from a new report suggest that hernia recurrence is more likely following laparoscopic repair than more traditional “open” repair. Lead author Dr. Leigh Neumayer of the VA Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah said “Right now, we’re trying to tease out why recurrence rates were higher with laparoscopic repair. I think part of it is that it’s just a harder procedure to learn and it takes a lot of experience to get good at it.”
The rate of immediate postoperative complications was higher in the laparoscopic group, at 24.6 percent, compared with rate in the open group, at 19.4 percent. Although rare, complications during surgery and life-threatening complications were also more frequent in the laparoscopic group. In contrast, the rate of long-term complications was similar in each group.
Pain immediately following surgery and two weeks later was lower in the laparoscopic group, but this only hastened the return to normal activities by one day.
The report is published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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