Re-evaluation of jumping purse-string suturing in pediatric laparoscopic hernia repair

Background Reported recurrence rates using jumping purse-string suturing in laparoscopic hernia repair (LH) are higher than that of intact purse-string. This study aims to compare the outcomes of LH using transabdominal jumping purse-string suturing (TJS) with those using transabdominal intact purse-string suturing (TIS) and percutaneous extraperitoneal intact purse-string suturing (PEIS). Methods A total of 3340 patients from three centers who have undergone laparoscopic hernia repair from January 2016 to June 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. Of these, 1460 patients received TJS, 724 patients received TIS, and 1006 patients received PEIS. One hundred and fifty patients were excluded due to the loss of follow-up. Demographic characteristics, intraoperative findings, and postoperative complications were analyzed. Results The hernia distribution characteristics and mean length of hospital stay were similar among the three groups (p > 0.05, p > 0.05). While the overall complication rates were similar among the three groups (0.34% in TJS vs. 0.41% in TIS vs. 0.50% in PEIS, TJS & TIS p = 0.502; TJS & PEIS p = 0.813), the incidence of intraoperative hematoma in TIS group and postoperative subcutaneous knot in PEIS group was significantly higher ((0.83% in TIS and 0.34% in TJS vs. 0.2% in PEIS, TJS & TIS p = 0.018; TJS & PEIS p = 0.163), (0% in TIS and 0% in TJS vs. 0.2% in PEIS, TJS & TIS p = 0.415; TJS & PEIS p = 0.025)). There were no differences in the recurrent rate in both unilateral and bilateral cases. Conclusions Transabdominal jumping purse-string suturing is not associated with a higher recurrence rate and is the recommended surgical approach.