Treatment of inguinal hernias in girls with laparoscopic Burnia technique versus open surgery Original Research

Abstract

Introduction: At present, the debate is expanding on which technique would be better, comparing open surgery with the laparoscopic technique and the future cosmetic interest in female patients who require surgery, so the objective of the present study was to describe girls with inguinal hernia undergoing laparoscopic correction techniques (Burnia technique) versus conventional surgery for inguinal hernias.

Methods: The present observational study was carried out at the Dr. Roberto Gilbert Elizalde Children's Hospital, in Guayaquil, Ecuador, from January 2021 to February 2022. With a non-probabilistic sample, girls undergoing surgical treatment entered the study for inguinal hernia. Age, surgical technique, hospital stay, surgical time, and operative complications were recorded. Bivariate analysis is performed comparing the surgical techniques: open versus laparoscopic. Proportions are compared with Chi-square and means with Mann-Whitney U.

Results: 89 patients were included in the study, 76 cases by open technique (AT) and 13 cases by Burnia technique (TB). The average age was 3.8 years, 5.05 days of hospitalization in unilateral TA and 2.3 days in unilateral TB (P=0.03), 7.2 days of hospitalization in bilateral TA, and 2.25 days in bilateral TB (P=0.026). Surgical time was 46.9 minutes in unilateral TA and 40.38 minutes in unilateral BT (P=0.232). Operative time of 64.7 min in bilateral TA and 42.5 min in bilateral TB (P=0.038). Complications 2 cases (2.6%) in TA and 1 case (7.7%) in TB (P=0.35).

Conclusions: Using the laparoscopic technique decreased hospital stay times and surgical time when it is bilateral. From the aesthetic point of view, the scars were less visible in the minimally invasive surgical treatment.