Prophylactic Antibiotic Treatment for Laparoscopic Inguinal Hernia Mesh Repair: Necessary or Not?

Prophylactic Antibiotic Treatment for Laparoscopic Inguinal Hernia Mesh Repair: Necessary or Not?

The purpose of this study is to find out whether it is necessary to prophylactically treat patients undergoing laparoscopic inguinal hernia repairs with antibiotics. Our hypothesis is that it is not necessary to pretreat patients with antibiotics if the operation is minimally invasive with a mesh placed at the defect.

The investigators plan to follow up at least 100 patients who did not receive antibiotics prior to their inguinal hernia repair and compare their outcome to 100 patients who did receive prophylaxis. The investigators mainly will be analyzing the incidence of surgical site infections as evidenced by swelling, redness, pain, warmth or other signs deemed by the surgeon.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Elective laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair, unilateral or bilateral

Exclusion Criteria:

• Those requiring antibiotics for the surgery;
• Those patients who have experienced surgical site infections from previous surgeries