Objective follow-up after transection of uterine round ligament during laparoscopic repair of inguinal hernias in women: assessment of safety and long-term outcomes

BackgroundWhether to preserve the uterine round ligament during laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair in women is controversial. In this study, we aimed to compare outcomes of uterine round ligament preservation versus transection during such surgery and to explore the impact and long-term outcomes of transecting the round ligament.MethodsThe study cohort comprised 419 women who had undergone laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair in Beijing Chaoyang Hospital and Qilu Hospital from January 2013 to January 2020; 393 (93.8%) of whom were successfully followed up. Patient characteristics and technical details of the operative procedure were collected and analyzed retrospectively. Early and late postoperative follow-up data, complications, especially symptoms related to retroflexed uterus, and fertility outcomes, were collected by a single follow-up nurse who was blinded to the operative procedure.ResultsThere were 218 women (239 sides) in the uterine round ligament preservation group and 175 (182 sides) in the transection group. The patients in the preservation group were younger (45.9 vs. 53.6 years, p = 0.000), and had lower American Society of Anesthesiologists scores (p = 0.000). The median follow-up times in the preservation and transection groups were 41.8 ± 24.2 and 42.7 ± 24.6 months, respectively (p = 0.692). Compared with the transection group, the preservation group had longer operative times for repair of both primary and recurrent hernias. Intraoperative bleeding, length of hospital stay, development of seromas, recurrence rate, incidence of postoperative pain at the first and third postoperative months, and time of last outpatient visit were similar in the two groups. There were more premenopausal patients in the preservation group; however, we found no evidence that transection of the round ligament affected subsequent pregnancy or childbirth. Moreover, we identified no differences in dyspareunia, dysmenorrhea, chronic pelvic pain, or uterine prolapse.ConclusionTransection of the round ligament during laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair in women does not increase the incidence of dyspareunia, dysmenorrhea, chronic pelvic pain, or uterine prolapse, whereas it has the advantage of reducing the operation time.