Skin staples

Abstract

Abstract Background: Inguinal hernia is a common condition in the general population requiring surgical treatment. The lifetime risk of developing an inguinal hernia is 27% for men and 3% for women. Lichtenstein et al. in 1989 introduced a tension-free repair technique using a polypropylene mesh to reinforce the posterior wall of the inguinal canal. The current practice world over is to secure the mesh in place using polypropylene sutures. The time taken from mesh preparation to skin closure may be significantly reduced if skin staples are used in place of polypropylene sutures. The use of skin staples may also lead to a reduced incidence of certain postoperative complications such as seroma formation, nerve impingement, and superficial surgical site infections owing to reduced tissue handling. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of skin staples in place of polypropylene sutures for mesh fixation and wound closure in patients undergoing elective inguinal hernia repair. Methodology: A single-arm study was designed to observe the effects of skin staples for mesh fixation and wound closure in 50 consecutive cases of primary unilateral adult inguinal hernia open mesh repair from November 1, 2015, to July 31, 2017. The mesh fixation time was noted, and the incidence of postoperative complications was calculated. The data were compared with 50 retrospective controls for the postoperative complications who had undergone Lichtenstein’s hernioplasty with polypropylene sutures for mesh fixation. Results: The median mesh fixation time was noted to be 14.15 min with a range of 8:30–30:00 min. The median pain score measured by the Visual Analog Score was 7 on the day of the operation and 5 on the next day after operation. The median pain score was 2 on the 1st week after the operation, and then, it was 0. There was no statistically significant difference between the cases and the retrospective controls in terms of postoperative complications such as reexploration (P = 0.500), seroma formation (P = 0.951), surgical site infection (P = 0.282), and recurrence (P = 0.278). Conclusion: The mean mesh fixation time calculated from this study can be used as a reference for future interventional trials. The incidence of postoperative complications was comparable with the standard procedures.