Evaluation of Chronic Groin Pain Rates After TEP Hernioplasty – A Single-Center Study

Total extraperitoneal hernioplasty (TEP) has become increasingly used by surgeons. The TEP procedure is technically more challenging due to space constraints and has a higher learning curve. Chronic groin pain after inguinal hernia repair has become the dominant outcome investigated rather than recurrence. We aimed to evaluate the rate of chronic groin pain after TEP inguinal hernia repair performed at the Department of Surgical Oncology in G. Stranski University Hospital – Pleven. The procedures performed totaled 36. There was one conversion, and the patient was excluded from the study because the procedure performed was not laparoscopic. Distribution according to inguinal hernia type was: 41.7% - indirect hernia (15), 36.1% - direct hernia (13), 13.9% combined (5), and 8.3% femoral (3). Twenty-eight of the patients (80%) had preoperative pain. Two of the patients with chronic groin pain had had their meshes fixed with tacks (14.3% from the tack group with p=0.7). Our study showed that the TEP procedure is a safe, feasible operation with minimal risk for complications. Using tacks for mesh fixation is associated with higher rates of chronic groin pain, but it does not affect the recurrence rate, which correlates with the literature review data.