To investigate the safety and effectiveness of mini-laparoscopy in the treatment of cryptorchidism with inguinal hernia.

A total of 21 patients with cryptorchidism and ipsilateral inguinal hernia admitted to the urology department of Suning county people's hospital of Hebei province from October 2010 to October 2018 were collected. Mini-laparoscopy (5.0 mm diameter high-definition laparoscope, 2.8 mm separating forceps, needle holder, etc.) was used for minimally invasive treatment. The patients were retrospectively analyzed in this study.

The operation time in this case series was (95.0±12.3) minutes. Of these, 2 cases were performed with high ligation of hernia sac and cryptorchidectomy, due to hypoplasia of the spermatic cord and testis; 6 patients had retroperitoneal defect after dissection of spermatic cord and vas deferens, and the inner ring was not closed. 3 cases had excessively large inner ring after testicular detorsion and orchidopexy, and 5.0 mm trocar was replaced with 10 mm trocar. The peritoneum was sutured after mesh placement. There were no postoperative complications such as scrotal hematoma, scrotal infection, wound infection, and chronic pain. Two patients had remained small testes after 5.5 years and 1.7 years, respectively, and B-mode ultrasound showed testicular atrophy. After the follow-up of (6.6±3.4) years (range from 0.3 to 8.7 years), no hernia recurred.

The primary study indicates that it is safe and reliable to treat cryptorchidism with ipsilateral inguinal hernia by mini-laparoscopy, with less damage, faster recovery and fewer complications. It is worthy of clinical application.