Total Extraperitoneal Inguinal Hernia Repair Compared With Lichtenstein (the LEVEL-Trial)
Bibliographic record
Abstract
In Brief Background: This randomized controlled trial was designed to compare the most common technique for open mesh repair (Lichtenstein) with the currently preferred minimally invasive technique (total extra peritoneal, TEP) for the surgical correction of inguinal hernia. Methods: A total of 660 patients were randomized to Lichtenstein or TEP procedure. Primary outcomes were postoperative pain, length of hospital stay, period until complete recovery, and quality of life (QOL). Recurrences, operating time, complications, chronic pain, and costs were secondary endpoints. This study was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov and carries the ID: NCT00788554. Results: About 336 patients were randomized to TEP, and 324 to Lichtenstein repair. TEP was associated with less postoperative pain until 6 weeks postoperatively (P = 0.01). Chronic pain was comparable (25% vs. 29%). Less impairment of inguinal sensibility was seen after TEP (7% vs. 30%, P = 0.01). Mean operating time for a unilateral hernia with TEP was longer (54 vs. 49 minutes, P = 0.03) but comparable for bilateral hernias. Incidence of adverse events during surgery was higher with TEP (5.8% vs. 1.6%, P < 0.004), but postoperative complications (33% vs. 33%), hospital stay and QOL were similar. After TEP, patients had a faster recovery of daily activities (ADL) and less absence from work (P = 0.01). After a mean follow-up of 49 months, recurrences (3.8% vs. 3.0%, P = 0.64) and total costs (€3.096 vs. €3.198) were similar. Conclusion: TEP procedure was associated with more adverse events during surgery but less postoperative pain, faster recovery of daily activities, quicker return to work, and less impairment of sensibility after 1 year. Recurrence rates and chronic pain were comparable. TEP is recommended in experienced hands. This randomized controlled trial compared Lichtenstein versus total extraperitoneal for the surgical correction of inguinal hernia in 660 patients. Total extraperitoneal was associated with more adverse events during surgery but less postoperative pain, faster recovery and less loss of sensibility after 1 year. Recurrence rates and chronic pain were comparable, therefore total extraperitoneal repair is recommended in experienced hands.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.001 | 0.003 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.004 | 0.003 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Open science | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Research integrity | 0.002 | 0.002 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.016 | 0.001 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".