Hernia Repair Surgery
Hernias don't heal on their own. Surgery is the only way to repair a hernia—and how the surgery is performed matters.A hernia happens when tissue pushes through an opening in your muscles. Ventral hernias occur in the belly while inguinal hernias occur in the groinYou may feel pain or discomfort from a hernia. But even painless hernias can become a problem. That's why your surgeon will weigh the risks of surgery to repair the hernia against the risks of leaving it untreated. Here are a couple of important things to know:
- Without repair, the opening tends to grow larger over time.
- If trapped tissue can't move back inside, you may become very sick and need emergency surgery.
Ventral hernia repair overview
See how a surgeon completes a ventral hernia repair procedure using da Vinci surgical instruments.
Inguinal hernia repair overview
See how a surgeon completes an inguinal hernia repair procedure using da Vinci surgical instruments.
Da Vinci hernia repair: What the research shows
Doctors can perform hernia repairs in different ways, including traditional open surgery, laparoscopic surgery, or da Vinci surgery. Studies that compare da Vinci surgery with other approaches may help you understand what to expect.Results seen in studiesSurgery studies look at different patients and measure different results. That's why results for da Vinci surgery vary across study groups. When there was only one study or no studies that measured a result, "Not enough data" appears.
Ventral hernia repair1
The results shown in this chart are from a review of 35 studies published from January 1, 2010 to March 1, 2024. The number of patients in these studies was 17,118 da Vinci surgery patients, 152,210 laparoscopic patients, and 156,376 open surgery patients.Metric | Da Vinci | Laparoscopic |
|---|---|---|
Complications within 30 days (%) | 10.7% | 14.1% |
Average length of hospital stay (days) | 1.6 days | 1.8 days |
Return to work (days) | 7.0 days | 8.5 days |
Pain score in first 30 days (score) | 1.6* | 2.4 |
Surgical-site infections within 30 days | 0.3%* | 3.4% |
Readmissions to the hospital within 30 days | 3.8% | 4.1% |
Reoperations within 30 days (%) | 0.8% | 1.9% |
Hernia recurrence within 30 days | 0.7% | 2.8% |
Hernia recurrence at two years | 2.7%* | 10.4% |
Length of time in surgery (minutes) | 147.4 min | 88.6 min* |
Unplanned change to open surgery (%) | 3.4%* | 6.0% |
* Results were statistically significant
Metric | Da Vinci | Open |
|---|---|---|
Complications within 30 days (%) | 14.4% | 18.4% |
Average length of hospital stay (days) | 1.8 days* | 4.4 days |
Return to work (days) | 7.0 days | 8.6 days |
Surgical-site infections within 30 days | 1.5%* | 8.3% |
Readmissions to the hospital within 30 days | 4.2% | 6.4%* |
Reoperations within 30 days (%) | 1.5% | 2.6% |
Hernia recurrence within 30 days | 0.0%* | 4.2% |
Length of time in surgery (minutes) | 242.2 min | 149.4 min* |
* Results were statistically significant
Inguinal hernia repair2
The results shown in this chart are from a review of 40 studies published from January 1, 2010 to March 1, 2024. There were 23,888 da Vinci surgery patients, 91,278 laparoscopic patients, and 306,727 open surgery patients in these studies.Metric | Da Vinci | Laparoscopic |
|---|---|---|
Inpatient average length of hospital stay (days) | 1.6 days | 1.5 days |
Outpatient average length of hospital stay (hours) | 6.1 hours | 6.5 hours |
Complications within 30 days (%) | 10.9% | 7.7% |
24-hours after surgery pain score | 2.4* | 3.4 |
Acute pain in first 30 days (%) | 2.0% | 6.2% |
Surgical-site infections | 2.1% | 2.0% |
Readmissions to the hospital within 30 days (%) | 2.6% | 1.6% |
Reoperations within 30 days (%) | 2.2% | 0.9% |
Hernia recurrence within 30 days | 0.2% | 0.2% |
Hernia recurrence at one year | 0.7%* | 2.3% |
Hernia recurrence at two years or longer | 1.1%* | 2.0% |
Length of time in surgery (minutes) | 106.6 min | 74.7 min* |
Unplanned change to open surgery (%) | 2.1%* | 2.8% |
* Results were statistically significant
Metric | Da Vinci | Open |
|---|---|---|
Inpatient average length of hospital stay (days) | 1.8 days | 2.4 days |
Outpatient average length of hospital stay (hours) | 6.8 hours | 6.0 hours |
Complications within 30 days (%) | 8.7% | 8.5% |
24-hours after surgery pain score | 0.0* | 3.4 |
Acute pain in first 30 days (%) | 1.4%* | 4.3% |
Surgical-site infections | 0.5% | 0.7% |
Readmissions to the hospital within 30 days (%) | 2.5% | 3.3% |
Reoperations within 30 days (%) | 1.2% | 1.1% |
Hernia recurrence within 30 days | 0.2% | 0.1% |
Hernia recurrence at one year | 1.4% | 3.4% |
Hernia recurrence at two years or longer | 2.0% | 1.2% |
Length of time in surgery (minutes) | 106.8 min | 63.6 min* |
* Results were statistically significant
If you and your doctor decide surgery is right for you, ask whether da Vinci robotic-assisted surgery could be the answer.
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