Ref (type)	Population	Outcome, Interventions	Results and statistical analysis	Effect size	Favours
Hospital stay
Systematic review	1227 people 8 RCTs in this analysis	Length of hospital stay with TEP laparoscopic repair with open mesh repair	WMD –0.12 days 95% CI –0.06 days to –0.18 days The difference was small Data analysed using fixed-effects model; see further information on studies for full details Heterogeneity among RCTs; see further information on studies	Effect size not calculated	TEP laparoscopic repair
RCT	140 people	Length of hospital stay 2 days with TEP laparoscopic repair 2 days with open mesh repair	P >0.05		Not significant
RCT	1371 men with primary unilateral hernia	Discharge from the hospital within 24 hours 100% with TEP laparoscopic repair 99.1% with open mesh repair	Significance not assessed
Duration of operation
RCT	1371 men with primary unilateral hernia	Median duration of operation 55 minutes with TEP laparoscopic repair 55 minutes with open mesh repair	Significance not assessed
RCT 3-armed trial	66 men with primary unilateral hernia	Operative times with TEP laparoscopic repair with open mesh repair Absolute results not reported	Significance not assessed