Different methods of mesh fixation in open retromuscular incisional hernia repair: a comparative study in pigs

Complications unveiled: A detailed case report on mesh migration post-incisional hernia repair

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE

Repairing incisional abdominal wall hernia with nonabsorbable meshes is one of the most common procedures in general surgery. Mesh migration into the intestine is rare but a serious complication. It can occur months or even years after surgery and often presents with vague abdominal pain, making diagnosis tricky.

CASE PRESENTATION

We report a rare case of a 52-year-old female presenting a small bowel obstruction secondary to mesh migration from the abdominal wall into the intestine, 10 years after repeated surgical repair of a ventral incisional hernia. At surgery, a mesh was migrated into a small bowl. The patient had a small bowel resection. The postoperative course was simple and the patient was discharged after 5 days.

CASE DISCUSSION

Incisional hernia repair with mesh is one of the most commonly performed surgical procedures worldwide. Many complications have been linked to the use of mesh; among the most frequently reported are seromas, hematomas, and infections. Mesh migration remains an uncommon event after incisional hernia repair, and even rarer when considering complete migration within the intestinal lumen. The exact cause of this complication remains unknown. Multiple hypotheses have been proposed for mesh migration. Abdominal pain, intermittent or persistent intestinal obstruction, mass formation, and viscus perforation represent the most common clinical manifestation. Total removal of the mesh via laparoscopy or laparotomy is recommended, along with either partial or entire resection of the organ.

CONCLUSION

Mesh migration is a an uncommon possible complication in case of incisional hernia mesh repair and it requires often surgical intervention.

Use of surgical mesh of different compositions in the correction of the abdominal wall defect in rats

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the performance of two surgical meshes of different compositions during the defect healing process of the abdominal wall of rats.

METHODS

thirty-three adult Wistar rats were anesthetized and subjected to removal of an area of 1.5 cm x 2 cm of the anterior abdominal wall, except for the skin; 17 animals had the defect corrected by edge-to-edge surgical suture of a mesh made of polypropylene + poliglecaprone (Group U--UltraproTM); 16 animals had the defect corrected with a surgical mesh made of polypropylene + polidioxanone + cellulose (Group P--ProceedTM). Each group was divided into two subgroups, according to the euthanasia moment (seven days or 28 days after the operation). Parameters analyzed were macroscopic (adherence), microscopic (quantification of mature and immature collagen) and tensiometric (maximum tension and maximum rupture strength).

RESULTS

there was an increase in collagen type I in the ProceedTM group from seven to 28 days, p = 0.047. Also, there was an increase in the rupture tension on both groups when comparing the two periods. There was a lower rupture tension and tissue deformity with ProceedTM mesh in seven days, becoming equal at day 28.

CONCLUSION

the meshes retain similarities in the final result and more studies with larger numbers of animals must be carried for better assessment.

[Operative therapy of secondary ventral hernia: technical principles]

Secondary ventral hernia or incisional hernia occurs in at least 20 % of cases after laparotomy and most patients are symptomatic. The pathogenesis of incisional hernia is believed to be based on a defect in collagen synthesis indicating the necessity of covering the whole original incision with a non-resorbable, macroporous mesh. These meshes can be used on top of the fascia (onlay), in a retromuscular fashion (sublay) or intraperitoneally (IPOM). The IPOM technique is the preferred procedure during laparoscopic repair of ventral hernias. The clear advantage of the laparoscopic approach is the dramatically reduced rate of wound complications, especially infections. Major defects of the abdominal wall require plastic reconstruction with the component separation technique in both anterior and posterior approaches. The component separation technique must be combined with retromuscular mesh augmentation enabling a recurrence rate of less than 10 % and an acceptable morbidity to be achieved.

A systematic review of randomised control trials assessing mesh fixation in open inguinal hernia repair

PURPOSE

The technique for fixation of mesh has been attributed to adverse patient and surgical outcomes. Although this has been the subject of vigorous debate in laparoscopic hernia repair, the several methods of fixation in open, anterior inguinal hernia repair have seldom been reviewed. The aim of this systematic review was to determine whether there is any difference in patient-based (recurrence, post-operative pain, SSI, quality of life) or surgical outcomes (operative time, length of operative stay) with different fixation methods in open anterior inguinal hernioplasty.

METHODS

A literature search was performed in PubMed, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library databases. Randomised clinical trials assessing more than one method of mesh fixation (or fixation versus no fixation) of mesh in adults (>18 years) in open, anterior inguinal hernia repair, with a minimum of 6-month follow-up and including at least one of the primary outcome measures (recurrence, chronic pain, surgical site infection) were included in the review. Secondary outcomes analysed included post-operative pain (within the first week), quality of life, operative time and length of hospital stay.

RESULTS

Twelve randomised clinical trials, which included 1,992 primary inguinal hernia repairs, were eligible for inclusion. Four studies compared n-butyl-2 cyanoacrylate (NB2C) glues to sutures, two compared self-fixing meshes to sutures, four compared fibrin sealant to sutures, one compared tacks to sutures, and one compared absorbable sutures to non-absorbable sutures. The majority of the trials were rated as low or very low-quality studies. There was no significant difference in recurrence or surgical site infection rates between fixation methods. There was significant heterogeneity in the measurement of chronic pain. Three trials reported significantly lower rates of chronic pain with fibrin sealant or glue fixation compared to sutures. A further three studies reported lower pain rates within the first week with non-suture fixation techniques compared to suture fixation. A significant reduction in operative time, ranging form 6 to 17.9 min with non-suture fixation, was reported in five of the studies. Although infrequently measured, there were no significant differences in length of hospital stay or quality of life between fixation methods.

CONCLUSIONS

There is insufficient evidence to promote fibrin sealant, self-fixing meshes or NB2C glues ahead of suture fixation. However, these products have been shown to be at least substantially equivalent, and moderate-quality RCTs have suggested that both fibrin sealant and NB2C glues may have a beneficial effect on reducing immediate post-operative pain and chronic pain in at-risk populations, such as younger active patients. It will ultimately be up to surgeons and health-care policy makers to decide whether based on the limited evidence these products represent a worthwhile cost for their patients.

Differences in biomechanical stability using various fibrin glue compositions for mesh fixation in endoscopic inguinal hernia repair

BACKGROUND

In hernia surgery, mesh fixation with fibrin glue instead of tacks and sutures can demonstrably reduce postoperative morbidity without increasing recurrence rates. In some cases there are significant differences in the biomechanical properties, depending on the functional structure of the meshes. Furthermore, there are various fibrin glue products on the market and these are used for mesh fixation. This study compared the fixation strength of fibrin glues in combination with various meshes.

METHODS

Three different lightweight polypropylene meshes (TiMESH™ light, ULTRAPRO™, Optilene(®) LP) were tested. All meshes were fixed using 2 ml of each of the three different fibrin glues (TISSUCOL(®), QUIXIL(®), EVICEL(®)) and tested for their biomechanical stability. The defect in the muscle tissue used was 45 mm for a mesh size of 10 × 15 cm. Measurements were conducted using a standardized stamp penetration test, while aiming not to use a fixation strength of less than 32 N.

RESULTS

With TISSUCOL, the fixation of Optilene LP proved to be significantly better than that of TiMESH or ULTRAPRO (97.3 vs. 47.9 vs. 34.9 N, p < 0.001). With EVICEL, it was possible to also achieve good tissue fixation for the ULTRAPRO mesh, while the results obtained for Optilene and TiMESH were relatively poorer [114.7 vs. 92.4 N (p = 0.056), vs. 64.3 N (p < 0.001)]. With QUIXIL, satisfactory results were obtained only for Optilene LP (43.6 N).

CONCLUSION

This study showed that there were significant differences in the fixation strength of different polypropylene meshes in combination with various fibrin glues. Experiments demonstrated that for each mesh there is an optimum combination with a particular fibrin glue with respect to the fixation strength. It must now be verified whether these results can be extrapolated to clinical practice.