[Recurrent Inguinal Hernia: Study of 87 Cases]

A retrospective analysis is made of the data of 87 patients with recurrent inguinal hernias operated at the Hospital das Clínicas of the University of São Paulo in a period of six years. As it happened with other authors, frequency of recurrence was: direct hernia (43.5%), indirect hernia (50%), the less often seen mixed form (3.9%), and crural hernia (2.6%). They discuss local and systemic etiopathogenic factors, strain in the early postoperative period being indicated as a major factor, responsible for 43.1% of the cases. More than half of recurrences (48/85) occurred in the first year, some occurring after a longer period of time (30.6% after three years). The mostly used repair techniques were modified Bassani's technique (suture of the transverse arch to the inguinal ligament) and the Lotheissen-McVay technique, in 46.1% and 42.5% of the cases, respectively. In 9 of the 85 cases, tightening the deep inguinal orifice was enough. Analysis of the rate of surgical failure was difficult, as patients did not routinely return for follow-up visits.