Our experience with a use of light weight mesh for inguinal hernia

Abstract

[Purposes]We made a comparison study of the Mesh Plug method using light weight mesh (Ethicon ULTRA Pro Plug) (the L method) with the conventional Kugel method (the K method) and the Mesh Plug method using heavy weight mesh (the H method). [Subjects and Methods] Subjects were : 32 cases of inguinal hernia in the L method ; 73 cases in the K method ; and 38 cases in the H method. Comparison examinations were performed for ten items among these three groups. [Results]There were few cases which showed significant swelling of the surgical wound in the L method (6.2%) group. Although no significant differences were noted, there was no patient in the L method group who complained of sharp pain after one month or more after surgery or who had prominent induration of the wounds. Incidence of seroma was also less in the L method group. [Conclusion]The use of light weight mesh was considered to reduce the frequencies of swelling of the surgical wound, seroma formation, induration formation and sharp pain which might occur more than one month after surgery, and resultantly to raise the postoperative QOL.