Surgery for Inguinal hernia is one of the most frequently performed surgical interventions worldwide. The Lichtenstein tension free hernioplasty is currently considered to be the reference technique worldwide. However there is still no consensus as to which is the best technique. The Lichtenstein tension free hernioplasty has significantly decreased the incidence of recurrence in inguinal hernia ranging from 2–5 per cent when compared with nonmesh repair. However, chronic groin pain, presently the main complication after LTF hernioplasty, has been reported to occur in 15–40 per cent of patients. Chronic pain as described by the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) is: ‘any VAS score above zero which lasts for more than three months. The precise components involved in the prevalence of chronic groin pain is poorly appreciated but is thought to be multifactorial. The etiological factors inducing chronic groin pain postoperatively include nerve entrapment by the sutures/mesh, inflammatory reaction against the mesh, foreign body reaction and bio-incompatibility of the mesh. Transinguinal pre-peritoneal hernioplasty has been proclaimed as a safe-anterior access with preperitoneal suture-less mesh placement. This approach has a shorter learning curve and also economical. Hypothetically, TIPP technique is allied with lesser chronic groin pain postoperatively when compared to Lichtenstein’s tension free technique as the placement of mesh is in the pre-peritoneal plane, avoiding nerve dissection and their vulnerability to bio-reactive polypropylene mesh.

COMPARATIVE, LICHTENSTEIN TENSION FREE MESH REPAIR, TRANSINGUINAL PREPERITONEAL MESH REPAIR, INGUINAL, HERNIAS