Are Surgeons of the Abdominal Core Health Quality Collaborative Following Guidelines in Umbilical and Epigastric Hernia Repair?

BACKGROUND: Umbilical and epigastric hernias are among the top three most common hernia surgeries performed in the USA with varied techniques. The European and Americas Hernia Societies (EAHS) recently published guidelines for repair of umbilical and epigastric hernias. We evaluated how closely the general surgeons of the Abdominal Core Health Quality Collaborative (ACHQC) follow these guidelines and to identify areas for possible improvement. METHOD: Data from patients undergoing elective and emergent umbilical or epigastric hernia repair from 2013 to 2021 were extracted from the ACHQC database. The procedures performed on eligible subjects were compared to those proposed by the EAHS guidelines. Data was reported as a percentage and a cutoff of 70% was selected to determine compliance. RESULTS: Based on these criteria, 11,088 patients were included and most of the recommendations, including appropriate preoperative antibiotic dosing (96.1% umbilical; 97.2% epigastric), permanent mesh selection (umbilical 97.8%; 96.1 epigastric), mesh fixation with suture (83.6% umbilical; 75.5% epigastric), use of mesh for open repair of hernias greater than 1 cm (83.6 umbilical; 85.7 epigastric), and primary defect closure during open (98.6% umbilical; 97.5% epigastric) and laparoscopic (99.6% umbilical; 100% epigastric) repair, were met. DISCUSSION: Surgeons of the ACHQC adhere to most of the published guidelines on umbilical and epigastric hernia repair. Further research is needed to reinforce or modify the existing recommendations. Standardization of surgical approach will facilitate additional research needed to improve procedural efficiency, while reducing negative outcomes and cost.

The T-Line® Hernia Mesh, A Novel Mesh Uniquely Designed to Prevent Hernia Recurrence and Occurrence.

Ventral hernia repair (VHR) fixation techniques with current meshes on the market are prone to failure from intra-abdominal pressure spikes due to coughing or lifting, for example. The T-Line® Hernia Mesh (Deep Blue Medical Advances, Durham, North Carolina) is a new mesh with a novel fixation mechanism to enhance anchoring strength addressing hernia occurrence and recurrence. Used similarly to traditional mesh, the new mesh uses incorporated mesh sutures that are 15 times the surface area of sutures for fixation rather than monofilament sutures, providing ~275% stronger anchoring strength. The increased surface area of the mesh extensions decreases tension on the mesh and tissue and increases the strength of the repair overall. There is also the likelihood that anchoring gains strength over time as the extensions undergo bioincorporation. This novel mesh specifically addresses the most common complication of VHR and has the potential to significantly improve outcomes.