Surgical practice and outcome in 711 neonates and infants undergoing hernia repair in a large multicenter RCT: Secondary results from the GAS Study.

Background: The GAS study is an international RCT to evaluate neurodevelopmental outcome comparing general plus regional anesthesia versus regional anesthesia alone in 722 neonates and infants who had inguinal hernia repair up to 60 weeks of postmenstrual age. This paper comprises a secondary descriptive analysis of hernias, aspects of surgery and outcomes.

Methods: The incidence of unilateral and bilateral hernias, side preponderance, predictive factors for bilateral hernias and surgical approaches were collated.