General Interest Letter to the Editor on “Laparoscopy is Increasingly Used for Pediatric Inguinal Hernia Repair”

In 2021, members of our group (MPS, DGS, and RAC) utilized the Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS) database to report a fivefold increase in the use of laparoscopy for pediatric inguinal hernia repair (IHR) over a 10-year period, from 3% of all IHRs in 2009 to 15% of all IHRs in 2018 [ [1] Shaughnessy M.P. Maassel N.L. Yung N. Solomon D.G. Cowles R.A. Laparoscopy is increasingly used for pediatric inguinal hernia repair. J Pediatr Surg. 2021 Nov; 56 (Epub 2021 Jan 27. PMID: 33549307): 2016-2021https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2021.01.032 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (16) Google Scholar ]. Anecdotally, laparoscopic IHR has continued to gain popularity since 2018, particularly in infants. Here we provide an update to these previously published data, with specific attention to rates of laparoscopic IHR in different age groups and in infants with a diagnosis of prematurity.