To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of open preperitoneal prosthetic mesh repair for acutely incarcerated or strangulated inguinal hernia.

102 patients who were treated for acutely incarcerated or strangulated inguinal hernia in Department of General Surgery, Zhangjiagang Fifth People's Hospital, Suzhou, Jiangsu province from April 2014 to December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. According to whether mesh repair was applied, they were divided into observation group (n=52) and control group (n=50). The operation time, hospital stay, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score, postoperative complications and recurrence were compared between the two groups.

There was no significant difference in the average operation time and hospital stay between the two groups (P>0.05). There was no significant difference in VAS scores between the two groups at 1, 6, and 12 hours after operation and at discharge (P>0.05). The incidence of postoperative complications between the two groups was not statistically significant (P>0.05). During the 1-year follow-up, there was no recurrence in the observation group, while 7 cases in the control group had recurrence. The recurrence rate was statistically significant (P<0.05).

Open preperitoneal prosthetic mesh repair is not only safe and effective in the treatment of incarcerated or strangulated hernia, but also has a low postoperative recurrence rate, which is worthy of clinical application.