Inclusion criteria
inadequate language skills, hernia
Male patients aged from 18 to 85 years, suitable for day case surgery and presenting a symptomatic primary unilateral inguinal hernia, were included in this study.Exclusion criteria were bilateral, recurrent, or incarcerated hernia, an American Society of Anaesthesiologists physical status (ASA) of IV or more, and a body mass index higher than 35 or lower than 18. Also, teaching surgery (a surgical trainee performs a portion of the entire operation under the guidance of a consultant) or cases, where the surgeon was inexperienced with both meshes (a minimum of five times use of both meshes was required) led to patient exclusion. Patients with inadequate language skills or patients not willing to participate were not included. The excluded patients were recorded (Fig. Flow diagram of the study designThe participants received oral and written information about the study and signed an informed consent.