Pediatric inguinal hernia treated by single-port laparoscopic water injection hernia crochet needle

Introduction
Inguinal hernia is the most common disease in pediatric surgery and is induced by congenital processus vaginalis patency. Almost all inguinal hernias are inguinal indirect hernias, and herniorrhaphy has accounted for about 15% of all pediatric operations. In the past 20 years, with the development of minimally invasive technology, laparoscopic inguinal herniorrhaphy has been emerging in China and in other countries.

Aim
To introduce a new technique for treating inguinal hernia in children, and evaluate the feasibility and surgical efficacy of a transumbilical single-port laparoscopic water-injection hernia crochet needle in treating pediatric inguinal hernia.

Material and methods
Clinical data of 136 inguinal hernial children treated using a transumbilical single-port laparoscopic water-injection hernia crochet needle in our hospital from June 2017 to December 2018 were retrospectively analyzed.

Results
All procedures were successfully accomplished, and no case was converted to a different procedure; the average operation time was 16 min for one side and 35 min for both sides. Patients were followed for an average of 10 months after surgery. One patient had a line-knot reaction at the inguinal puncture point 3 months after surgery and recovered after conservative treatment, and no recurrent case was observed after surgery.

Conclusions
It is feasible to treat pediatric inguinal hernia through a transumbilical single-port laparoscopic water-injection hernia crochet needle, which is associated with safety, less trauma, rapid recovery, no obvious scar, and satisfactory efficacy. Therefore, it is worthy of being promoted and applied in clinical practice.