How Lichtenstein hernia repair affects abdominal and anal resting pressures: A controlled clinical study

Purpose: Inguinal hernia repair is the most common surgical procedure performed by general surgeons worldwide. The Lichtenstein tension-free hernioplasty was first introduced in 1984 and evolved through 1988. Today it is the gold standard in hernia repair. The objective of this study was to determine if intra-abdominal and anal pressures changed in patients with inguinal hernias after Lichtenstein hernioplasties were performed. Materials and methods: A sample of 103 individuals, 92.2% of whom were male (n = 95) and 7.8% of whom were female (n = 8), aged 38.38 ± 14.03 years was used. The sample was divided into two groups: those with inguinal hernia (n = 53) and those without hernia (n = 50), who served as controls. Anal and abdominal manometric measurements were taken from each control patient at baseline and from each study patient before and after surgical repair. Results: Data analysis revealed differentiation of abdominal and anal pressures between the controls, the study patients before operation, and the study patients after operation. The average [SD] abdominal pressure was -2.58 mmHg [5.35] before hernia repair and 2.33 mmHG [3.62] after repair. The average [SD] abdominal pressure in the control group was 1.16 mmHg [1.96]. Conclusions: The Lichtenstein tension-free hernioplasty causes increases in abdominal and anal pressures, but this increase is not of a pathological level.