Commentary: Nationwide analysis of complications related to inguinal hernia surgery in Finland: a 5 year register study of 55,000 operations.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of severe complications of adult inguinal hernia surgery from 2003 to 2007 using data from the Finnish National Patient Insurance Association.

Methods: All major surgical complications are reported to the association because it handles financial compensation for patients' injuries without proof of malpractice. The number of inguinal hernioplasties was obtained from the National Hospital Discharge Registry.

Results: The association received reports of 115 major and 135 moderate complications from 55,000 hernia operations. The overall complication rate was 4.5 per 1,000 hernia procedures. The distribution of injuries consisted of chronic pain (32%), infections (22%), bleeding complications (13%), urologic complications (12%), recurrence (8%), intestinal complications (7%), and miscellaneous disorders (6%). Altogether, 94 patients (38%) received financial compensation from their hospitals. On multivariate analysis, significant associations with chronic pain were found for general anesthesia, length of operation, and the presence of wound complications.

Conclusions: Chronic inguinal pain and deep infections were associated with severe long-term discomfort and financial compensation to patients with inguinal hernias in Finland.