Laparoscopic TEP procedure: Takes at least 250 cases to get it right

Had my bilateral inguinal hernias repaired yesterday laparoscopically by a surgeon who’s a real machine at doing this using the TEP procedure. It was at a teaching hospital, and all of the studies I’ve read say that most of the complications related to TEP come from surgeon inexperience, so I told her that I wanted to make sure that she was the one holding the instructions and not some PGY-2.

She totally agreed and told me that other studies have shown that it takes at least 250 cases before a surgeon becomes proficient in the procedure. While I’m only a day in, much less discomfort than I expected — real pro.

Just some advice to folks who are looking for a surgeon. Don’t choose some general surgeon who does these every so often — the more cases, the better. Also, another reason not to wait until your hernia goes south before getting it fixed, because it’s very likely that if you go to the ER and need surgery, the surgeon won’t be able to proficiently use any procedure that’s not open, if that’s important to you. And if he does TEP, buckle up.