THE SUPERIORITY OF KUGEL METHOD COMPARED TO MESH PLUG METHOD FOR INGUINAL HERNIA IN ADULTS

• Published in: Nihon Rinsho Geka Gakkai Zasshi (Journal of Japan Surgical Association) Vol. 67; no. 10; pp. 2285 - 2288
• Main Authors: KURODA, Shintaro, KOIDE, Kei, FUJIKUNI, Nobuaki, AKIMOTO, Narihiro, OISHI, Koichi, KADOYA, Takayuki, FUKUDA, Saburo, SAKIMOTO, Hideto, ETO, Takaaki, TAKAHASHI, Makoto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan Surgical Association 2006
• ISSN: 1345-2843; 1882-5133
• DOI: 10.3919/jjsa.67.2285

Among many operative procedures for inguinal hernia in adults, Kugel method which has a variety of benefits has increasingly employed in recent years. Compared with other tension free procedures, Kugel method is a simple procedure requiring less operative manipulations. However, it is a difficult point of Kugel method that the acquaintance of skill demands experiences in some degree, because we are anatomically unfamiliar to the preperitoneal cavity at where a patch is placed. In this study we calculated the learning curve of operating time in 38 cases in which one surgeon had performed Kugel method for 16 months after the introduction of it, in order to draw the number of cases to acquire the skill. Moreover a comparison was made between these 38 cases and another 37 cases in which mesh plug method was performed before the introduction of Kugel method. Average operating time was 29.6 min in Kugel method versus 47.3min in mesh plug method. It is inferred that reliable operating skill is able to be attained by experiences with 15-20 cases for one surgeon. Although Kugel method demands experiences in some degree, once surgeons are versed in the technique and the method would become an advantageous method which would promise reliable performance in a very short time.