To investigate the clinical effect of open preperitoneal space patch repair on an incarcerated or strangulated inguinal hernia.

The data of 82 patients with inguinal hernias who underwent surgery in the Department of General Surgery of our Hospital from January 2020 to December 2021 were analyzed retrospectively. Patients were divided into groups according to whether patch repair was used during the operation: 41 patients who did not use patch repair were in the control group, and 41 patients who used patch repair were in the observation group. The operation related indicators (operation time, blood loss, postoperative ambulation time, total hospital stay), pain indicators (1, 6, 12 h after operation, pain severity at discharge. Visual analogue scale), postoperative complications indicators (incision infection, scrotal edema, wound hematoma, lung infection, paralytic intestinal obstruction) and recurrence of half a year after operation were compared between the two groups.

There was no significant difference in operation time, blood loss, postoperative ambulation time and total hospital stay between the two groups (P>0.05). There was no significant difference in the severity of pain between the two groups at 1, 6, 12 h after operation and at discharge (P>0.05). There was no significant difference in postoperative complications between the two groups (P>0.05). The recurrence rate of patients in the observation group half a year after operation was lower than that of patients in the control group [0 vs 17.07% (7/41)] (χ²=5.623, P<0.05).

In the emergency surgical treatment of patients with incarcerated or strangulated inguinal hernias, the use of open preperitoneal patch repair can achieve good therapeutic effect, have good safety, and prevent the recurrence of the patient's condition.