A survey of preferred approach to inguinal hernia repair: laparoscopic or inguinal incision?

The recent interest in laparoscopic surgery has raised some concerns that large numbers of surgeons were recommending this «minimally invasive» approach in procedures such as inguinal herniorrhaphy before the availability of adequate data regarding safety and benefits. To determine current experience and preference levels for laparoscopic inguinal herniorrhaphy (LH), we conducted a mail survey of New jersey surgeons. Of 531 respondents, 430 (81%) preferred a traditional inguinal incision approach over a laparoscopic approach (8%). Of 344 general surgeon respondents, 227 (66%) had experience with laparoscopic cholecystectomy, but only 56 (16%) had experience with LH. This latter group had performed only an average of 9.2 laparoscopic herniorrhaphies, with a median of five cases