A PROSPECTIVE-STUDY OF ADULT INGUINAL-HERNIA REPAIRS USING ABSORBABLESUTURES

A prospective study was conducted over a 5-year period to determine wh ether inguinal hernia repair could be safely performed with absorbable suture material (polydioxanone) with reference to recurrence rates, w ound pain, haematoma formation and wound infection. Analysis is availa ble for 111 operations involving 111 patients. Mean follow-up was 36 ( range 21-66) months, with 81 procedures monitored for more than 2 year s. Two-layered hernia repair was used in all cases with polydioxanone as the chosen suture material. Mean post-operative stay was 2.1 days, with no hospital wound infections and three haematomas. Review identif ied 1 wound infection. There have been two recurrences. Preliminary re sults suggest that hernia repair with absorbable suture materials is c omparable to traditional non-absorbable repair in terms of recurrence and associated wound complications. The additional benefit is the abse nce of foreign material in the wound region following degradation of t he absorbable material. This does not appear to compromise the integri ty of the hernia repair. Mesh repairs are increasingly preferred to Sh ouldice-style repairs in elective inguinal hernias. However, we believ e that polydioxanone should be the suture material of choice in obstru cted or strangulated hernia. A larger study is required to verify this , as well as a longer follow-up period. The use of absorbable material warrants further investigation.