Early experience outcome of a reinforced Bioscaffold in inguinal hernia repair: A case series

Introduction: Chronic Postoperative Inguinal Pain (CPIP) represents one of the most frequent and dreaded causes of inguinal hernia complications. We evaluated the role of a novel Reinforced BioScaffold (RBS) in inguinal hernia repair to help reduce the incidence of CPIP. Methods: Data from thirty-one consecutive patients who had an inguinal hernia repaired using OviTex RBS was collected. All hernias were repaired using an open Lichtenstein technique with the RBS sutured in place using prolene suture. Results: There were no reported recurrences during the postoperative period. Similarly there were no postoperative complications (seromas or hematomas) that required surgical intervention and no reported surgical site infections (SSI) during the 30 days postoperatively. There was no reported incidence of Chronic Postoperative Inguinal Pain (CPIP). Finally, no RBS required explantation for infection, chronic pain, meshoma or any other reason. Conclusion: No patients reported any postoperative pain that was disabling or lasted beyond three months. No patients required a narcotic pain medications refill. RBS represent a novel hernia mesh that may minimize the inflammatory response seen in synthetic hernia mesh patients and thus may lead to less postoperative pain. To confirm these results, as well as evaluate the effect of RBS on late-onset CPIP, a larger prospective series should be studied with longer follow-up. Highlights: