Cost-Effectiveness of Laparoscopic and Open Pediatric Inguinal Hernia Repair.

Laparoscopic inguinal hernia (IH) repair is an alternative to open surgery. A potential advantage of laparoscopic repair is prevention of contralateral metachronous hernia although some studies report higher recurrence rate. We aim to determine the cost-effectiveness of open versus laparoscopic IH repair taking into account metachronous and recurrence rates.