Does Tension-Free Herniorrhaphy or Laparoscopic Herniorrhaphy Achieve Equal or Better Recurrence Rates and Lower Costs While Achieving Equivalent Outcomes for Hernia Patients?

Completed · Phase 3

Conditions studied: Hernia

In brief

Inguinal hernia is one of the most common worldwide afflictions of men. The presence of an inguinal hernia is indication for its repair. Approximately 700,000 hernia repairs are performed in the U.S. each year, and this procedure accounts for 10% of all general surgery procedures in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) (10,000 inguinal herniorrhaphies performed per year). There are many different techniques currently in use for repairing inguinal hernias and with the advent of laparoscopy, yet another technique is being advocated. Laparoscopic repair has been reported in some studies to be superior to open repair because of less pain and earlier return to work. However, laparoscopic repair requires a general or regional anesthetic and expensive equipment and supplies to perform. There is also evidence that open tension-free mesh repair may have results similar to laparoscopic repair for these patient centered outcome measures. The general acceptance of this procedure, especially in the VHA, has not been uniform. Furthermore, no randomized trial of sufficient size and power to be conclusive has been done to set forth the operative "gold standard" for hernia repair.

Key facts

Study ID
NCT00032448
Run by
US Department of Veterans Affairs
People needed
2200
Starts
1998-10-01
Expected to finish
2004-06-01
Last updated by the study team
2011-04-14

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: male. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

Where it is running

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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