Long term recurrence may be lower with laparoscopic repair

doi:10.1136/bmj.312.7026.309a

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James Wellwood,
David Stoker

Consultant surgeon Whipps Cross Hospital, London E11 1NR
Consultant surgeon North Middlesex Hospital, London N18 1QX

EDITOR,—In their study comparing laparoscopic with open repair of inguinal hernias Kate Lawrence and colleagues excluded 43% of patients considered for the trial.1 This is a high proportion: in our study five patients (3%) seen during the trial fulfilled our exclusion criteria.2

More complications occurred in the group that had laparoscopy in the authors' study. The surgical technique used probably accounts for three of the complications reported. The 12x8 cm mesh is too small and …