AbstractsMedical & Health Science

Repair of Inguinal hernia ranks among the most common surgical procedures worldwide. Large patient numbers necessitate efficacy and sophistication in the procedure. A novel self-attaching composite mesh (Parietene ProGrip , Covidien, Dublin, Ireland) and a sutured light-weight mesh (Parietene Light , Covidien) were compared double-blinded in 394 randomized patients. Outcomes were collected with a symptom diary and telephone contact during immediate convalescence and by clinical assessment one year after the operation. Outcomes up to 5 years after application of either a sutureless bilayer mesh (Prolene® Hernia System, Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Somerville, MA, USA) or standard tension-free repair (Surgipro , AutoSuture, Norwalk, CT, USA) were collected with a postal questionnaire, telephone contact, and clinical assessment in 300 patients. Health-related quality of life before and after open inguinal hernia repair was measured by RAND 36-Item Health Survey 1.0 (RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA, USA) in altogether 159 patients aged at least 65 years and 373 patients aged under 65 years. The results were compared within and between age groups as well as with the values from the general population. A database of 932 open mesh-based hernia repairs was subjected to regression analyses for factors predicting the presence of chronic posthernioplasty pain or more intensive postoperative inguinal pain. Outcomes between the self-attaching mesh and sutured light-weight mesh were equivalent. Applying the self-fixating mesh was faster (34 min vs. 42 min, p less than 0.001). Median sick leave was 2 weeks. At one year, 4.7% of patients perceived pain while resting, 2.0% had pain interfering with every-day life, 25.4% experienced discomfort, and 9.5% had losses in sensation in the operated groin. One recurrence (0.3%) was encountered. Sensory dysfunction of groin skin was rarer 5 years after the operation with the bilayer device than after tension-free repair (5.0% vs. 13.9%, p = 0.022). Other long-term outcomes did not differ. Occurrence of chronic pain diminished from 6.8% at 2 years to 1.3% at 5 years. Cumulative recurrence rate was 1.3%. Discomfort was present in 25.2% of patients, but 92.7% of patients were satisfied with the operation. RAND-36 showed similar improvement in both the elderly and younger patients after open inguinal hernia repair. Complication rates between the age groups did not differ. Higher preoperative VAS score (p less than 0.006), mid-weight mesh (p = 0.012), complications (p = 0.002), recurrence (p = 0.005), and younger age (p = 0.027) predicted chronic pain after open inguinal hernia repair. Higher VAS scores for inguinal pain were predicted by higher preoperative VAS scores (p less than 0.001), heavyweight meshes (p = 0.046), complications (p = 0.016) and recurrence (p = 0.001). Nivustyrä on yleisimpiä kirurgisia diagnooseja maailmanlaajuisesti. Suomessa nivustyrän korjaus kuuluu kymmenen tavallisimman sairaalassa tehtävän toimenpiteen joukkoon. Väitöskirjassa vertailtiin avokirurgiassa…