BACKGROUND: The treatment of inguinal hernia has changed considerably over the past 15 years. We reviewed the preclinical and clinical literature to find out the effect of inguinal hernia surgery on male fertility because it has been suggested that hernia surgery may impair testicular function and male fertility. DATA SOURCES: A search on Embase, MEDLINE, and the Cochrane Library was performed to find related articles. CONCLUSIONS: Animal models show substantial effects of hernia repair on the structures in the spermatic cord, which is more pronounced in mesh repairs. Although the number of studies and the included numbers of patients were limited, clinical studies indicate that these potential adverse effects do not seem to have a clinical impact on male fertility in humans with inguinal hernias. Future clinical studies, preferably with bilateral patients, are necessary to investigate the clinical relevance of the effects of inguinal hernia and hernia surgery on male fertility.
BACKGROUND: The treatment of inguinal hernia has changed considerably over the past 15 years. We reviewed the preclinical and clinical literature to find out the effect of inguinal hernia surgery on male fertility because it has been suggested that hernia surgery may impair testicular function and male fertility. DATA SOURCES: A search on Embase, MEDLINE, and the Cochrane Library was performed to find related articles. CONCLUSIONS: Animal models show substantial effects of hernia repair on the structures in the spermatic cord, which is more pronounced in mesh repairs. Although the number of studies and the included numbers of patients were limited, clinical studies indicate that these potential adverse effects do not seem to have a clinical impact on male fertility in humans with inguinal hernias. Future clinical studies, preferably with bilateral patients, are necessary to investigate the clinical relevance of the effects of inguinal hernia and hernia surgery on male fertility.