A Clinical Comparison of the Mesh Method with the Conventional Herniorrhaphy in Adult Inguinal Hernia

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: A tension-free hernioplasty, using mesh prosthetics, has revealed encouraging results in adult inguinal hernia repairs, and is increasingly being performed in Korea. However, there are few reports in Korea analyzing the clinical results of the mesh method. Therefore, this article compares the results of our mesh method with those of the non-mesh method in adult inguinal hernia repairs. METHODS: Between January 2000 and October 2002, 252 herniorrhaphies were performed. With these cases, a retrospective clinical analysis was performed on 52 tension-free herniorrhaphy cases and 48 conventional herniorrhaphy cases. The clinical features analyzed included age, sex, location, type of operation, operating times, use of postoperative analgesics, length of hospital stays, recurrence rates and complications. RESULTS: The average number of analgesics used was significantly smaller in the mesh than the non-mesh group (P0.05, 4.1 days vs. 4.7 days, respectively). The recurrence rate in the non-mesh method was 6.3% (3/48), but there were no recurrences in the mesh group. Postoperative complications occurred in the non-mesh method group (1 case of a hematoma, and 2 of wound infection), but there were no complications in the mesh group. CONCLUSION: A tension-free herniorrhaphy, with mesh, is a useful technique because it is a pain-relieving operation, with a tendency for lower recurrences and complications than the non-mesh method. Therefore, it is suggest that a tension- free herniorrhaphy, with mesh, may also be a cost effective technique under the Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) system for patients and hospitals.