Total extraperitoneal laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair (TEP) is one of the main surgical methods for treatment of inguinal hernia. The purpose of this paper is to explore the safety and effectiveness of TEP surgery in the day surgery mode.

The clinical data of patients undergoing inguinal hernia day surgery in Mianyang Central Hospital from June 2022 to June 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. They were divided into the open group (236 cases of open preperitoneal repair) and the TEP group (124 cases) by surgical methods. The operation indexes (operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative ambulation time, the time of incision healing, hospitalization cost), complications (urinary retention, scrotal effusion, foreign body sensation, chronic pain, infection of incision, operated region effusion, and total complication rate), satisfaction, and recurrence 6 months after surgery were analyzed and compared between the two groups.

All patients successfully completed the operation, and there was no conversion in the TEP group. The operation time of unilateral inguinal hernia in the open group was shorter than in the TEP group. There was no statistically significant difference in the surgical time for bilateral inguinal hernia between the two groups of patients. There was no significant difference in intraoperative blood loss between the two groups. The time of getting out of bed and the time of incision healing were significantly shorter in the TEP group than those of the open group [(4.5±2.4) hours vs (6.9±1.5) hours; (8.5±1.7) days vs (11.2±2.3) days], and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The hospitalization cost of the TEP group was higher than that of the open group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in incidence of postoperative urinary retention, scrotal effusion, chronic pain, operated region effusion, and total complication rate between the two groups of patients (P>0.05). The incidence of foreign body sensation and incision infection in the open group was higher than in the TEP group (P<0.05). The overall satisfaction of TEP group was significantly better than that of open group (95.1% vs 90.2%) three months after operation, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Both groups were followed up for 6 months after surgery, except 2 cases in the open group, and no recurrence cases were detected by ultrasound.

TEP is safe and effective in day surgery mode, and can be applied after proficiency.