Long-term outcome and chronic pain in atraumatic fibrin glue versus staple fixation of extra light titanized meshes in laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair (TAPP): a single-center experience

Comparison of anatomical polyester mesh without fixation and conventional flat mesh with fixation in laparoscopic total extraperitoneal repair for inguinal hernia

PURPOSE

Laparoscopic total extraperitoneal (TEP) inguinal hernia repair is a well-established technique. In Taiwan, the National Health Insurance (NHI) covers the fees of the procedure and conventional mesh (polypropylene mesh), whereas the anatomical polyester mesh (Parietex™) requires additional self-pay. This study aimed to compare the outcomes of the conventional mesh with fixation versus the polyester mesh (without fixation) in laparoscopic TEP repair.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of male patients who underwent laparoscopic TEP repair between 2017 and 2021. Patients could choose between the conventional mesh with fixation (conventional mesh group) or self-paid Parietex™ mesh without fixation (anatomical polyester mesh group). The outcomes included operation (OP) time, prolonged length of stay (LOS), and postoperative complications.

RESULTS

A total of 74 patients with 123 hernias were included, of which 36 patients (67 hernias) underwent the anatomical mesh without fixation, while 38 patients (56 hernias) underwent the conventional mesh with fixation. The mean OP time was 102.6 ± 45.6 and 88.5 ± 42.0 min in the conventional and the anatomical polyester mesh group. After adjusting for body mass index, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, and hernia type, no significant differences were observed between the two groups in OP time (p = 0.152) and the risk of acute pain (p = 0.337), chronic pain (p = 0.816), seroma (p = 0.941), hydrocele (p = 0.423), or hematoma (p = 0.347).

CONCLUSIONS

The conventional mesh demonstrates non-inferior outcomes compared to the anatomical polyester mesh. Given that the anatomical polyester mesh is not reimbursed by Taiwan's National Health Insurance (NHI), the use of the conventional mesh with fixation in TEP inguinal hernia repair may be a more cost-effective option in Taiwan.

Non-fixation versus fixation of mesh in laparoscopic transabdominal preperitoneal repair of inguinal hernia: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

PURPOSE

The impact of non-fixation of mesh in transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) inguinal hernia repair has not been fully assessed. The aim of this meta-analysis was to comprehensively compare the clinical outcomes of non-fixation and fixation of mesh in TAPP to determine whether non-fixation could affect the outcomes.

METHODS

PubMed, Embase and CENTRAL were searched for studies on TAPP repair of inguinal hernia and mesh fixation published up to June 2023. The literature search was completed on June 22, 2023. Randomized controlled trials that compared perioperative outcomes between mesh fixation and non-fixation without using self-gripping mesh were included. The primary outcome measures were recurrence and evaluation of postoperative pain, while secondary outcome measures included time to normal activity, infection rate and formation of seroma. Subgroup analyses and sensitivity analysis were also conducted.

RESULTS

Six randomized controlled trials were included, involving 679 patients who underwent TAPP with non-fixation and 964 patients with fixation of mesh. There was no significant difference in recurrence between the two groups (RR: 0.83; 95% CI, 0.29-2.39, P = 0.73). The non-fixation group had less pain than the fixation group at 6 months postoperatively (MD: -0.16; 95% CI, -0.23--0.10, P < 0.0001). Additionally, there was no significant difference in the time to return to normal activity or rates of infection or seroma formation between the two groups (MD: -4.95; 95% CI, -11.36-1.45, P = 0.13; RR: 1.18; 95% CI, 0.39-3.62, P = 0.77; RR: 0.94; 95% CI, 0.63-1.40, P = 0.75).

CONCLUSION

Based on the current evidence, non-fixation without using self-gripping mesh may not affect the efficacy of TAPP. It does not increase recurrence rate and may result in less postoperative pain in inguinal hernia with small hernia defect (less than 3cm).

Comparison of modified tumescent and conventional laparoscopic transabdominal preperitoneal inguinal hernia repair: a retrospective clinical study

OBJECTIVE

Laparoscopic transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) inguinal hernia repair poses certain challenges to less experienced surgeons. This study was performed to compare the clinical outcomes of modified tumescent laparoscopic TAPP (MT-TAPP) inguinal hernia repair versus conventional laparoscopic TAPP (CL-TAPP) inguinal hernia repair.

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed the perioperative data of patients with inguinal hernias who underwent either MT-TAPP repair (n = 57) or CL-TAPP repair (n = 54) at the General Surgery Department of Nanjing Yimin Hospital from November 2019 to June 2023.

RESULTS

The durations of the total operation and the preperitoneal space dissection were shorter in the MT-TAPP than CL-TAPP group. The estimated blood loss volume was lower in the MT-TAPP than CL-TAPP group. The visual analogue scale scores recorded at the 12- and 24-hour postoperative time points showed significantly greater reductions in the MT-TAPP than CL-TAPP group.

CONCLUSIONS

Using liquid injection and gauze dissection is both safe and practical. This technique results in a shortened total operation time, less time spent on preperitoneal space dissection, decreased estimated blood loss, and less severe postoperative pain.

Impact of titanium-coated polypropylene mesh on functional outcome and quality of life after inguinal hernia repair

Objective

This study aims to compare the clinical outcomes of complications, quality of life, and chronic pain between titanium-coated polypropylene mesh and polypropylene mesh after Lichtenstein or TAPP surgery.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study was conducted, involving patients who underwent inguinal hernia repair using Timesh light®, Optilene LP®, or 3DMax™ meshes between January 2020 and May 2022. Based on the surgical method, patients were divided into Lichtenstein and TAPP groups, and further categorized according to the type of mesh used. The primary endpoints assessed postoperative complications, postoperative pain, and postoperative quality of life. Secondary endpoints included postoperative sensation in the surgical area and postoperative recurrence rate.

Results

A total of 180 Lichtenstein procedures and 478 TAPP procedures were included in the analysis after propensity score matching. The findings revealed that patients with titanium-coated polypropylene mesh did not exhibit significant advantages in perioperative data. Within three months to one year after TAPP surgery, patients with the titanium-coated polypropylene mesh reported improved foreign body sensation during activities (P = 0.002) and a lower incidence of chronic pain (P = 0.008). However, after one year, these advantages of titanium-coated polypropylene mesh were no longer significant during activity or at rest. In the TAPP group, the titanium-coated polypropylene mesh depicted advantages in the single score of the SF-36 questionnaire.

Conclusions

The utilization of titanium-coated polypropylene mesh resulted in reduced foreign body sensation and chronic pain in activity within one year after TAPP surgery, significantly enhancing certain aspects of the patient's quality of life compared to polypropylene mesh.

Laparoscopic bilateral inguinal hernia repair: Should it be the preferred technique?

Inguinal hernias are amongst the most common conditions requiring general surgical intervention. For decades, the preferred approach was the open repair. As laparoscopy became more popular and available and more surgeons became familiarized with this modality, laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair became an alternative. The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of laparoscopic inguinal repair, with a focus on bilateral inguinal hernias. Initial reports have shown promising clinical outcomes compared to those of conventional repair of bilateral hernias. However, there are only a few studies concerning laparoscopic repair of bilateral hernias. It is yet to be proven that laparoscopy is the "gold standard" in the treatment of bilateral inguinal hernias. So far, the choice of an inguinal hernia repair technique has been up to each surgeon, depending on their expertise and available resources after taking into consideration each patient's needs.

Evaluation of long-term chronic pain and outcomes for unilateral vs bilateral circular incision transabdominal preperitoneal inguinal hernia repair

Aim

This study has two aims: to evaluate long-term chronic pain and complications after circular incision transabdominal preperitoneal inguinal hernia repair (C-TAPP) and compare outcomes of unilateral and bilateral inguinal hernia cases.

Methods

A postoperative patient questionnaire was used to evaluate pain and complications in 1546 patients who underwent C-TAPP for simple inguinal hernia. Questions concerned satisfaction with surgery, pain at rest, pain at movement, mesh discomfort on a 10-point scale, and complications, such as recurrence. Patients were classified into unilateral (U Group) and bilateral (B Group) groups, and propensity score matching was performed to compare long-term chronic pain and complications.

Results

The questionnaire return rates were 77.5% (1034 cases) and 79.9% (135 cases) in unilateral and bilateral cases. The frequency of moderate-to-severe (≥4 points) pain at rest, pain at movement, and mesh discomfort were 3.2%, 3.6%, and 4.5%, respectively. After propensity score matching, no significant differences in pain at rest (P = .726), at movement (P = .712), or mesh discomfort (P = .981) were detected between the U and B groups. Postoperative complications occurred in 2.1% of all patients, and the recurrence rate was 0.3%. In the post-match comparison, no differences in complications with Clavian-Dindo classification ≥III (U Group 0.7%, B Group 2.1%, P = .622) were detected.

Conclusion

C-TAPP, which focuses on the layered structure, showed acceptable results for long-term chronic pain. Bilateral cases did not have worse pain or complications compared to unilateral cases.

Bio-based and bio-inspired adhesives from animals and plants for biomedical applications

With the "many-headed" slime mold Physarum polycelphalum having been voted the unicellular organism of the year 2021 by the German Society of Protozoology, we are reminded that a large part of nature's huge variety of life forms is easily overlooked - both by the general public and researchers alike. Indeed, whereas several animals such as mussels or spiders have already inspired many scientists to create novel materials with glue-like properties, there is much more to discover in the flora and fauna. Here, we provide an overview of naturally occurring slimy substances with adhesive properties and categorize them in terms of the main chemical motifs that convey their stickiness, i.e., carbohydrate-, protein-, and glycoprotein-based biological glues. Furthermore, we highlight selected recent developments in the area of material design and functionalization that aim at making use of such biological compounds for novel applications in medicine - either by conjugating adhesive motifs found in nature to biological or synthetic macromolecules or by synthetically creating (multi-)functional materials, which combine adhesive properties with additional, problem-specific (and sometimes tunable) features.

Drainage decreases the seroma incidence in laparoscopic transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) hernia repair for large inguinoscrotal hernias

BACKGROUND

Seroma is a common and inevitable postoperative complication in transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) hernia repair, especially in patients with large inguinoscrotal hernias. However, studies have rarely reported drainage in TAPP for large inguinoscrotal hernias.

METHODS

Sixty-five patients with 78 large indirect inguinoscrotal hernias who underwent TAPP procedure with drainage between September 2016 and December 2019 were enrolled in this study. 181 patients with Type Ⅲ indirect inguinal hernias (European Hernia Society (EHS) classification, hernia defect >3 cm) who underwent TAPP without drainage (no-drainage group) between January 2019 and December 2019 were included for a comparison. In the drainage group, a 12-Fr drainage tube was inserted into the distal hernia sac via the preperitoneal space to decrease the incidence of seroma.

RESULTS

There was no conversion to open procedures in all the patients. The operative time (56.5 ± 8.4 VS 54.8 ± 9.6 min, unilateral; 95.8 ± 10.4 VS 92.1 ± 13.9 min, bilateral), blood loss (5.9 ± 1.9 VS 5.6 ± 1.7 mL), visual analogue scale score on postoperative day 1 (2.3 ± 0.5 VS 2.2 ± 0.5) and postoperative hospital stay (1.1 ± 0.3 VS 1.0 ± 0.2 days) in the drainage group were equivalent to those in the no-drainage group (p > 0.05). The mean length of drainage was 5.2 ± 1.3 days. The drainage group had a significantly lower incidence of seroma than the no-drainage group (1.5% VS 9.4%, p = 0.037). The postoperative complications including haematoma, recurrence and chronic pain were comparable in the two groups.

CONCLUSION

Drainage with appropriate duration is a feasible, safe and effective measure to decrease the incidence of seroma in TAPP for patients with large inguinoscrotal hernias.

Laparoscopic Transabdominal Preperitoneal Approach with Negative Pressure Drainage for Giant Inguinal Hernia

Background: Giant inguinal hernia (GIH) is a rare disease but it can cause serious complications, such as intestinal obstruction and strangulation. Few studies have explored surgical treatment with respect to the transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) approach or measures to reduce the occurrence of postoperative seroma. Purpose: To investigate the safety and efficacy of the TAPP approach with negative pressure drainage in GIHs. Methods: From January 2017 to December 2019, 32 patients who underwent TAPP procedures with negative pressure drainage for GIHs at our hospital were reviewed. Demographic information, surgical characteristics, and follow-up data were obtained. Results: The mean age of the patients was 66, and more than half of them had medical comorbidities. All GIHs were defined as Type 1 and were successfully repaired through the TAPP approach with negative pressure drainage. The mean operative time was 146 minutes (range 122-251). After surgery, the mean drainage time was 7 days (range 5-10 days), and the mean volume of drainage in each patient was 820 mL (range 655-1020 mL). Complications occurred in 3 cases. For 1 case, the inferior epigastric artery was injured during surgery. A seroma was observed in 1 patient, which occurred 2 days after removal of the drainage tube. Finally, 1 patient developed an umbilical puncture site infection, and the wound healed after changing the dressing. The mean follow-up was 13 months (range 1-32), and there was no recurrence or mesh infection during that time. Conclusion: TAPP is a safe and effective approach for treating Type 1 GIHs with low operative complications. Negative pressure drainage through the scrotum to the preperitoneal space may reduce the incidence of seroma. Recurrence of hernias was not observed, and chronic pain seldom occurred during the follow-up period in our study.