Epidemiology of abdominal wall and groin hernia repairs in children

Retrospective analysis of 19,398 pediatric hernia repairs from DoD database (2005-2014) reveals inguinal hernias are most common with highest non-elective rate (22% for ventral). Significant variation in time-to-repair exists by hernia type, with umbilical hernias showing longest median wait (66 days) compared to inguinal (20 days).