ArticleSurgical endoscopy2025
Should occult hernia be repaired in TAPP?
Article in Surgical endoscopy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Should occult contralateral inguinal hernias be repaired during unilateral TAPP? A systematic review and single-arm meta-analysis.Hernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery · 2026Pooled it
- From Laparoscopic TAPP to l-GPSpX: A Pilot Reclassification of Hernia Surgery Acronyms Using the Muysoms Nomenclature.Journal of abdominal wall surgery : JAWS · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOccult hernias, defined as asymptomatic hernias not detectable on physical examination, are identified intraoperatively in up to 22% of patients undergoing laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair. While treatment may prevent future symptomatic herniation in approximately 21-29% of patients, the risk of complications on the occult hernia side remains unclear, especially when using the transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) approach, which has been widely adopted.
methodsWe retrospectively analyzed 350 patients who underwent elective TAPP repair between January 2020 and December 2024. Patients were divided into two groups: the occult hernia group (n = 51), who underwent bilateral repair, including occult hernia treatment, and the non-occult hernia group (n = 299), who received unilateral repair without occult hernia identification. Postoperative complications were assessed at the first outpatient visit (median, 19 days postoperatively), compared between groups, and analyzed by occult and symptomatic sides.
resultsThe overall complication rates, defined as the occurrence of seroma; surgical site infection; and acute postoperative inguinal pain (APIP), which is pain requiring analgesics, were 13.7% and 16.4% in the occult and non-occult hernia groups, respectively (p = 0.84). On the occult hernia side (n = 51), the complication rate (seroma and APIP) was significantly lower than on the symptomatic side (n = 350) (2.0% vs. 12.3%, p = 0.03), with only one seroma and no APIP observed.
conclusionBased on prior reports, the number needed to treat to prevent one symptomatic hernia was estimated to be 4.6 (95% credible interval: 3.1-7.3), while the number needed to harm for occult hernia side complications was 51. Treatment of occult hernias during TAPP repair was associated with a low incidence of complications on the occult hernia side and a favorable benefit-to-risk balance. These findings support the safety and rationale for treating occult hernias in TAPP procedures.
Indexed as
Identifiers
40973906What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.