The surgeons here have told me anyone can get their recurrance rate down to 1% with mesh, but the canadian repair has wide surgeon variability, or something. You might be less likely to catch a nerve with the canadian method? Dr. Cox?
I have no data to back me up on this, but:
a good surgeon is not likely to catch the nerve or cord structures very often regardless of the procedure he does, as long as he does them often enough to and is aware of the potential to do so
an open procedure (ie, traditional repair) is almost always less frought with such potential complications as unrecognized variant anatomy or nerve entrapment
in the plug and patch you are not as close to the neurovascular bundle (I can still recall my bassini repairs as an intern with the attending watching me closely around the vessels as I took my bites), there's less tension (so presumably less recurrence but I'm not sure the data backs that up) even compared to those with a relaxing incision and the recovery tends to hurt less and I find less long term pain complaints with the plug and patch as opposed to traditional tension repairs.
But in most cases, you need to choose the correct procedure for the right patient. If an adult is getting a bilateral procedure, you should probably do it laparoscopically if there is no other CI; the recovery is pretty painful for a bilateral tension repair and besides (important point here) if the patient's tissues or protoplasm is so weak to begin with that they have bilat hernias, do you really think suturing to that crappy tissue is going to work well? Probably not. An extraperitoneal approach is probably best, IMHO. Kiddies different story - open procedures for all.
BTW, patients like to call the mesh, "screen doors". Dr. Kugel would be proud.
😀