A study of 101 patients treated with extraperitoneal endoscopic laparoscopic herniorrhaphy.

One hundred twenty-two hernias were repaired in 101 male patients through a total extraperitoneal approach. Patients ranged from 18 to 78 years old. All repairs were done with polypropylene mesh. Five patients (5%) required conversion to an open or transabdominal approach. Patients have been followed from 6 to 20 months, with a mean of 12 months. No recurrence has developed to date. Complications included urinary retention, groin hematoma, trocar site infection, and lateral femoral cutaneous nerve neuralgia. Six patients underwent simultaneous extraperitoneal endoscopic pelvic lymph node dissections, and two patients had varicoceles repaired simultaneously. Patients returned to usual activity within 1 week.