Evaluation of Long-term Performance of the GORE SYNECOR Intraperitoneal Biomaterial in the Treatment of Inguinal Hernias

Abstract

Background: The objective of this study was to analyze device safety and clinical outcomes of inguinal hernia repair with the GORE SYNECOR Intraperitoneal Biomaterial device, a hybrid composite mesh. Methods: This retrospective case review analyzed device/procedure endpoints beyond 1 year in patients treated for inguinal hernia repair with the device. Three objectives were evaluated: procedural endpoint—incidence through 30 days of surgical site infection, surgical site occurrence (SSO), ileus, readmission, reoperation, and death; device endpoint—serious device incidence of mesh erosion, infection, excision/removal, exposure, migration, shrinkage, device-related bowel obstruction and fistula, and hernia recurrence through 12 months; and patient-reported outcomes of the bulge, physical symptoms, and pain. Results: A total of 157 patients (mean age: 67±13 y) with 201 inguinal hernias (mean size: 5.1±5 cm2) were included. Laparoscopic approach and bridging repair were performed in 99.4% of patients. All device location was preperitoneal. No procedure-related adverse events within 30 days were reported. No surgical site infection or SSO events or device-related hernia recurrence occurred through 12 months. Procedure-related serious adverse events occurred in 6 patients; 5 recurrent inguinal hernias (at 1 and 2 y) and 1 scrotal hematoma (at 6 mo). Through 24 months, no SSO events requiring procedural intervention occurred. Through 50 months, 6 (2.98%) patients had confirmed hernia recurrence and 4 (1.99%) patients had hernia reoperation. The patient-reported outcome for pain was reported by 7.9% (10/126) of patients who completed the questionnaire. Conclusions: In this study, inguinal hernia repair with the hybrid composite mesh was successful in most patients and the rate of recurrence was low, further supporting the long-term safety and device performance.