title: Laparoscopic repair of recurrent hernia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Failure rates for recurrent hernioplasties vary from 3% to 30%. To help explain this high incidence of recurrence, we reviewed our 4-year experience using a laparoscopic approach and analyzed the characteristics of the recurrent hernias repaired.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred fifty-two patients with 173 recurrent hernias and 942 patients with 1,230 primary hernias were laparoscopically repaired using either a transabdominal preperitoneal or a totally extraperitoneal laparoscopic approach.
  
  
  RESULTS
  With a median follow-up of 24 months, one recurrence developed in the recurrent and four in the primary group. The incidence of bilateral disease (80% versus 46%), and the complexity of the hernias repaired (28% versus 14%) were significantly increased in the recurrent patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The importance of intrinsic weakness and missed hernias as factors that contribute to the failure of recurrent hernioplasties was supported by our findings. The low early failure rate of our laparoscopic approach suggested that this technique may help in eliminating these causes of failure.
authors.affiliation: Center for Hernia Repair, Fresno, California 93710, USA.
authors.forename: E L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Felix
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Michas
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Gonzalez
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D059685:Herniorrhaphy; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies