Long term results of repair of the internal ring for primary inguinal hernia

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the long term results of repair of the internal ring for primary inguinal hernia. Design: Retrospective study. Setting: University hospital, Denmark. Subjects: 1159 patients with primary unilateral inguinal hernia. Interventions: Repair of the internal ring - annulorrhaphy. Main outcome measures: Recurrence during the median observation period of 10 years (range 1-17). Results: Eighty-four (7%) were women, and the overall median age was 49 years (range 18-90). The overall recurrence rate calculated by life table analysis was 18%. Twenty-one of the recurrences were indirect hernias (49%), 11 were direct (26%), 8 were combined direct and indirect (19%) and 3 (7%) were femoral hernias. Conclusion: Repair of the internal ring alone carries an unacceptably high recurrence rate.