What is the likelihood of requiring contralateral inguinal hernia repair after unilateral repair?

BACKGROUND: Factors that predispose patients to the development of inguinal hernias will persist after repair. This study aimed to determine the incidence of future contralateral hernia repair. METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of a non-Medicare claims database (1999-2009) to identify patients billed for 2 asynchronous initial inguinal hernia repairs. RESULTS: In this database, 7,050 patients were followed up for a mean of 3.6 years, 272 patients required a contralateral hernia repair. The mean time between hernia repairs was 2.9 years and the same surgeon repaired both hernias in 67.6%. Fifteen patients had incarcerated contralateral hernias (5.5%). Patients who required contralateral repairs were older (62.2 vs 59.6 y; P = .014) and had prostate disease (odds ratio, 1.45; P = .0001). The risk of needing a contralateral inguinal hernia repair at 5 and 10 years of follow-up evaluation was 2.5% and 3.8%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Despite a reported 8% to 22% incidence of clinically unsuspected contralateral inguinal hernia, the likelihood of undergoing contralateral repair within 10 years is low at 3.8%. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.