Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42700266›Full record

ReviewHernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery2026

Outcomes after inguinal hernia repair: how strong is the evidence for minimally invasive versus open repair?

Benjamin A Y Cher, Qinyun Lin, Kenneth A Frank, Courtney J Balentine

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Hernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Benjamin A Y CherWisconsin Surgical Outcomes Research Program (WiSOR), Department of General Surgery, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 600 Highland Ave, Madison, WI, 53792, USA. bcher@wisc.edu.
Qinyun LinSchool of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Box 100, 405 30, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Kenneth A FrankCollege of Education, Michigan State University, 620 Farm Ln #134, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA.
Courtney J BalentineWisconsin Surgical Outcomes Research Program (WiSOR), Department of General Surgery, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 600 Highland Ave, Madison, WI, 53792, USA.

Funding

University of Wisconsin Voice Research Training Program (T32)T32DC009401 · NIDCD · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI Susan Lynn Thibeault · 2009 to 2026
$6.3M
A Pilot Study of Local Anesthesia for Inguinal Hernia Surgery in Older AdultsK76AG068515 · NIA · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · PI BALENTINE, COURTNEY J · 2021 to 2024
$939k
AHRQ HHS R01 HS029874AHRQ HHS R01HS029874NIA NIH HHS K76 AG068515NIA NIH HHS K76AG068515NIDCD NIH HHS T32 DC009401NIDCD NIH HHS T32DC009401U.S. Department of Education Institute for Education Sciences R305D220022
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeIt remains controversial whether minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is superior to open surgery for inguinal hernia repair. MIS is growing in popularity, but open surgery remains more common. Consensus remains elusive even though numerous studies have been published about the topic. A new method for sensitivity analysis, the Robustness of Inferences to Replacement (RIR), can summarize the complex body of literature and evaluate the strength of the published findings to better support surgical decision-making. This study applied the RIR to the available evidence about this topic.

methodsWe reviewed studies from published meta-analyses that compared MIS versus open surgery for elective, unilateral inguinal hernia repair and calculated the RIR for each study and for the cumulative data. The RIR indicates how many patients in a published study must be replaced from a null-hypothesis population for the published result to be overturned. Higher RIRs indicate more robust conclusions.

resultsThe literature review identified 40 randomized trials for inclusion. In the cumulative analysis, MIS had higher incidence of hernia recurrence (RIR 21), lower incidence of chronic pain (RIR 276), and lower immediate post-operative pain (RIR 1,282).

conclusionThe evidence supporting MIS for decreased post-operative pain and chronic pain is substantially stronger than the evidence supporting open surgery for decreased hernia recurrence. However, there is likely not a clearly superior method for all patients. The findings demonstrate how the RIR can support better surgical decision-making by helping surgeons to interpret a large and complex body of published literature.

Indexed as

Hernia, InguinalHerniorrhaphyLaparoscopyMinimally Invasive Surgical ProceduresChronic PainHumansPostoperative PainRecurrenceTreatment OutcomeChronic painHernia recurrenceInguinal herniaLaparoscopic surgeryMinimally invasive surgeryOpen surgeryRobustness of inferences to replacement

Identifiers

PMID42700266
PMCPMC13546352

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.