Day case inguinal hernia surgery in Nigerian children: Prospective study

Abstract

Background: There has been an increase in day case surgery for children worldwide, but there have been few reports of the practice (most of them being retrospective) by many of the surgical sub-specialties in the sub-region. The aim of this study was to document our experience with day case inguinal hernia surgery in a
developing economy. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective study of uncomplicated inguinal hernias treated as day case at OAUTHC between April 2004 and December 2004. Data were collected and analysed. Results: Eighty-eight patients were recruited into the
study and none defaulted. There were 88 patients, (M:F = 16.6:1). A majority (n = 54) of the hernias occurred on the right side, while just a few (n = 18) occurred on the
left. There were 5 cases of wound infections giving an infection rate of 4.8%. In all, the morbidity following day case inguinal hernia surgery was slight and no patient
required readmission into the hospital. Conclusion: Day case inguinal hernia surgery in children is safe and well accepted by patients and parents alike. Health institutions
in which children with inguinal hernias still queue for long periods for space on the operation list need to adopt day case surgery for inguinal hernia in order to forestall the
risk of their obstruction.

Keywords: Children, day case surgery, inguinal
hernia

African Journal of Paediatric Surgery Vol. 5 (2) 2008: pp. 76-78