Giovanni Vitullo

Preperitoneal Prosthetic Mesh Hernioplasty for the Simultaneous Repair of Inguinal Hernia during Prostatic Surgery: Experience with 172 Patients

Objectives: We report our experience with posterior preperitoneal prosthetic hernioplasty for inguinal hernia in patients undergoing concomitant pelvic surgery for prostatic pathologies. Methods: 172 patients with unilateral or bilateral inguinal hernia underwent posterior preperitoneal prosthetic hernioplasty during pelvic surgery for BPH and malignant prostatic pathologies. Results: There was no evidence of hernial recurrence after a mean of 30 months and no complications attributable to the hernial repairs, except for 1 patient who developed a small periprosthetic hematoma and 1 patient with a pelvic lymphocele, both spontaneously resolved. Conclusions: Posterior preperitoneal prosthetic hernioplasty for inguinal hernia combined with pelvic surgery for prostatic pathologies should be applied routinely by urologists because it is a relatively simple procedure and with a very low rate of complications and recurrence.