Comparison 1. Shouldice vs other techniques.

Outcome or subgroup title	No. of studies	No. of participants	Statistical method	Effect size
1 Recurrence	13		Peto Odds Ratio (Peto, Fixed, 95% CI)	Subtotals only
1.1 Shouldice vs mesh	6	1565	Peto Odds Ratio (Peto, Fixed, 95% CI)	3.80 [1.99, 7.26]
1.2 Shouldice vs non‐mesh	8	2865	Peto Odds Ratio (Peto, Fixed, 95% CI)	0.62 [0.45, 0.85]
2 Lenght of postoperative stay (days)	8		Mean Difference (IV, Random, 95% CI)	Subtotals only
2.1 Shouldice vs mesh	4	1045	Mean Difference (IV, Random, 95% CI)	0.38 [‐0.41, 1.18]
2.2 Shouldice vs non mesh	4	565	Mean Difference (IV, Random, 95% CI)	0.25 [0.01, 0.49]
3 Chronic pain	7		Peto Odds Ratio (Peto, Fixed, 95% CI)	Subtotals only
3.1 Shouldice vs mesh	5	1371	Peto Odds Ratio (Peto, Fixed, 95% CI)	0.87 [0.55, 1.39]
3.2 Shouldice vs non mesh	3	1968	Peto Odds Ratio (Peto, Fixed, 95% CI)	0.70 [0.40, 1.22]
4 Wound Infection	13		Peto Odds Ratio (Peto, Fixed, 95% CI)	Subtotals only
4.1 Shouldice vs mesh	7	1938	Peto Odds Ratio (Peto, Fixed, 95% CI)	0.74 [0.37, 1.49]
4.2 Shouldice vs non mesh	7	2635	Peto Odds Ratio (Peto, Fixed, 95% CI)	1.34 [0.70, 2.54]
5 Seroma	4		Peto Odds Ratio (Peto, Fixed, 95% CI)	Subtotals only
5.1 Shouldice vs mesh	3	1165	Peto Odds Ratio (Peto, Fixed, 95% CI)	0.96 [0.37, 2.50]
5.2 Shouldice vs non mesh	1	142	Peto Odds Ratio (Peto, Fixed, 95% CI)	2.86 [0.39, 20.74]
6 Testicular atrophy	6		Odds Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	Subtotals only
6.1 Shouldice vs mesh	3	1155	Odds Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	1.05 [0.04, 27.38]
6.2 Shouldice vs non mesh	3	1995	Odds Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	1.09 [0.21, 5.50]
7 Haematoma	10		Peto Odds Ratio (Peto, Fixed, 95% CI)	Subtotals only
7.1 Shouldice vs mesh	3	562	Peto Odds Ratio (Peto, Fixed, 95% CI)	0.64 [0.25, 1.64]
7.2 Shouldice vs non mesh	7	2797	Peto Odds Ratio (Peto, Fixed, 95% CI)	0.84 [0.63, 1.13]
8 Duration of the operation (Minutes)	7		Mean Difference (IV, Fixed, 95% CI)	Subtotals only
8.1 Shouldice vs Mesh	5	954	Mean Difference (IV, Fixed, 95% CI)	9.64 [6.96, 12.32]
8.2 Shouldice vs non mesh	3	372	Mean Difference (IV, Fixed, 95% CI)	10.10 [6.78, 13.42]