INTRODUCTION: Inguinal hernia (IH) repair is one of the most common surgical procedures worldwide. Among the various techniques available, the Shouldice (SHD) technique is mainly used for nonmesh open repair whereas, the transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) approach is a commonly performed minimally invasive method. Despite its widespread use, a direct comparison between the two techniques is lacking. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the short and long-term outcomes of SHD and TAPP for elective IH repair. METHODS: We searched the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library on April 16. Mean differences (MDs) and risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled for continuous and binary endpoints, respectively. Heterogeneity was assessed with I RESULTS: Thirteen RCTs comprising 2214 patients were included. Of these, 1089 patients (49%) underwent SHD repair and 1125 (51%) patients underwent TAPP repair. The mean BMI was reported in four studies ranging from 23 to 25.7 kg/m CONCLUSION: SHD repair demonstrated a lower occurrence of seromas
however, it was associated with a higher occurrence of both acute and chronic postoperative pain compared to TAPP in patients with a normal BMI. No significant differences were observed between the two techniques in terms of hernia recurrence, hematoma formation, urinary retention, or testicular atrophy rates.