Background: Repair of recurrent inguinal hernia carries a considerable risk of developing further recurrences. Despite a 
large number of studies in recent years, there is no consensus has been achieved on the best surgical technique of recurrent hernia repair. Few surgeons would disagree on using mesh for repair of recurrent inguinal hernia, but confusion exists on which is better: to plug or to patch recurrent inguinal hernia. 
Aim: The aim of this study was to compare the outcome of repair of recurrent inguinal hernia with mesh patch vs. mesh plug to find out which technique could be more suitable for use in recurrent cases. 
Patients & Methods: This study was done on 45 patients with recurrent inguinal hernia, divided into two groups. Group I included 22 patients (20 males and 2 females) that had mesh-plug repair. Group II included 23 patients (22 males and 1 
female) had mesh patch repair. Patients were followed up at three weeks, six months a year and two year after the operation. 
Comparison between the two groups was made in terms of hospital stay, postoperative pain, return to daily activities and early & late postoperative complications. P<0.05 was considered significant. 
Results: Mesh-plug repair was superior to mesh patch as patients who had mesh plug had less requirement for postoperative analgesics (P<0.05), shorter hospital stay (P<0.05), earlier return to daily activities (P<0.05), less early postoperative complications (P<0.05) and less late postoperative complications (P<0.05). There was no difference between the two groups on hernia recurrence on mean follow of 17 months and 19 months for group I and group II respectively (P>0.05). 
Conclusion: Patch and mesh-plug repairs are equally effective in the repair of recurrent inguinal hernia. However, mesh plug is superior to mesh patch as patients who had mesh plug had less requirement for postoperative analgesics, shorter hospital stay, earlier return to daily activities, and less postoperative complications.