TAPP vs LTF : A clinical studys

Introduction: Surgical repair of hernias is the most commonly performed surgical procedure in the world. Despite a large number of clinical studies, no consensus has been achieved on surgical technique of inguinal hernias. This study aims at evaluating the conventional Lichtenstein’s tension free repair versus transabdominal pre-peritoneal placement of mesh, in terms of morbidity, number of days of stay and post-operative pain. Methodolgy: This study evaluates the Lichtenstein’s tension free hernia repair versus TAPP. The study was conducted between November 2015 to August 2017 and total of 60 patients admitted with inguinal hernia, in the department of general surgery, Bangalore medical college, who met the inclusion criteria were included. The data was collected and appropriate statistical analysis was done. Results: Duration of hospitalization in the patients who underwent TAPP was lesser as compared to the patients who underwent LTF repair. Post-operative complications in the LTF group were also more as compared to the TAPP group though the duration of surgery was longer in the TAPP group as compared to the LTF group. Conclusion: Though TAPP is a newer method of hernia repair but result in terms of post-operative outcomes are comparable to the conventional LTF repair and in terms of postoperative pain and complications, seems to be superior to LTF. Hence TAPP can be considered at par with the conventional LTF repair and in some ways better.