Purpose: To show the effectiveness of tension-free hernioplasty for inguinal hernia repair.
Methods: We studied 106 patients who underwent inguinal hernia repair, as conventional hernioplasty in 52 and as tension-free hernioplasty in 54. We analyzed the operation time, postoperative complications, pain, time to resume daily activities, and frequency of recurrence in the short and long term.
Results: The average age of the patients was 46.2 years. The operation time was significantly shorter in the tension-free group than in the conventional group, at 33 +/- 11.1 versus 49 +/- 8.8 min, respectively (P < 0.05). The overall complication rate was 10%, being 1.5% in the tension-free group and 13% in the conventional group (P = 0.4). The visual-analogue pain scores after surgery were lower in the tension-free group than in the conventional group (P = 0.01). Patients in the tension-free group returned to their normal activities sooner than those in the conventional group (P < 0.05).
Conclusions: Tension-free hernioplasty resulted in less pain and allowed patients to return to their daily activities sooner than conventional hernioplasty.