Opioids for Inguinal Hernia — Helpful or Harmful

Objective: To examine the effect of opioid use after inguinal hernia repair on pain and complications postoperatively. Design: Prospective observational study. Participants: Adult patients undergoing inguinal hernia repair. Methods: Their postoperative pain was managed by surgeon direction, and they were stratified into narcotic and non-narcotic groups based on usage. Patient demographics, prior opioid usage, procedure, and comorbidities were collected. Questionnaires pertaining to quality of life and pain were obtained at weeks 1, 3, and 12. Primary outcome was postoperative complications, which included adverse opioid reactions. Results: 94 patients were included in the no-opioid group compared to 16 in the opioid group. Most patients had robotic repairs. The 2 groups were similar, with the exception that acute and chronic pain were more prevalent in the opioid group. Mean hernia-related quality-of-life (HerQLes) questionnaire scores were higher for nonopioid users. Early complicat more...