To compare and analyze the efficacy of laparoscopic transabdominal preperitoneal hernia repair (TAPP) and Lichtenstein hernia repair in the treatment of primary inguinal hernia in adults, and to provide a clinical basis for primary care physicians to choose the appropriate surgical approach.

The clinical data of 80 adult primary inguinal hernia patients admitted to the Department of General Surgery of Gaochun People's Hospital in Nanjing from January 2019 to January 2020 were retrospectively collected. The patients were divided into two groups according to the operation mode: the experimental group underwent TAPP, and the control group underwent Lichtenstein hernia repair, with 40 cases in each group. The perioperative related indexes (operation time, intraoperative bleeding, hospitalization time, hospitalization cost), postoperative 24 h pain score, postoperative complications (seroma, urinary retention, infectionat the surgical site, chronic pain), and recurrence were compared between the two groups.

The general data of the two groups of patients were comparable. The average follow-up time was (20.6±3.3) months in the experimental group and (21.4±2.1) months in the control group.. Intraoperative bleeding (7.35±1.31) ml, length of hospitalization (3.13±0.72) d, postoperative 24-h pain score (1.63±0.54), and incidence of chronic pain in the inguinal region (2.5%) in the experimental group were less than those in the control group [(11.95±1.01) ml、(4.68±0.62) d、(2.65±0.62)、20.0%], (P<0.05). The experimental group's operation time (73.65±6.14) min was significantly longer than that of the control group (40.78±6.7) min (P<0.05). The cost of the experimental group during hospitalization (10 688.55±2624.58) yuan, the incidence of urinary retention (20%) was significantly higher than that of the control group [(6390.50±988.77) yuan、2.5%] (P<0.05); and the difference of other indexes between the two groups was not statistically significant.

TAPP is a safe and feasible surgical procedure, and compared with Lichtenstein hernia repair, it can reduce intraoperative bleeding, postoperative 24 h pain score, hospitalization time, and the incidence of postoperative chronic pain, but the cost is higher and the operation time is longer. Clinically, a case-by-case analysis is required to adopt an individualized surgical approach.