To investigate the pain and short-term complications of hernia ring filling tension-free hernia repair (Rutkow), laparoscopic total extraperitoneal hernia repair (TEP), and laparoscopic transmembrane anterior hernia repair (TAPP) in elderly patients after inguinal hernia surgery.

A total of 90 elderly patients with inguinal hernia admitted from January 2019 to December 2020 were selected as the research objects, and were divided into Rutkow group, TEP group and TAPP group according to the different surgical methods, with 30 patients in each group. Operation (operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative time to get out of bed, length of hospital stay), pain, postoperative recovery (anal exhaust time, bowel sound recovery time, first defecation time), complications and recurrence rate of 3 groups were compared.

There were statistically significant differences between the three groups in terms of operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative hospital stay, pain on the visual analog scale one day after surgery, and postoperative bowel sound recovery time (P<0.05). There were statistically significant differences between the Rutkow group, the TEP group, and the TAPP group in terms of operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative hospital stay, visual analog scale of pain one day after operation, and postoperative bowel sound recovery time (P>0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in the time it took to get out of bed after surgery, the visual analog scale of pain at 3 and 7 days after surgery, the time of postoperative anal exhaust, or the timing of the first bowel movement (P>0.05). The incidence of complications was 20.00% in the Rutkow group, 6.67% in the TEP group, and 10.00% in the TAPP group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). There were significant differences in the incidence of postoperative complications between the Rutkow group and the TEP and TAPP groups (P<0.05). The recurrence rates of the Rutkow group, the TEP group and the TAPP group were 3.33%, 0%, and 0%, respectively, with no significant difference (P>0.05).

TEP and TAPP have more significant effects on the improvement of postoperative pain and short-term complications in elderly patients with inguinal hernia, but the three methods have their own advantages and disadvantages as well as their indications, so different surgical repair methods should be selected according to the specific situation of patients.