Inguinal hernia repair with Spermatex: the first 100 cases

We evaluated 100 consecutive cases of surgical repair of inguinal hernia using SpermaTex (Davol, Cranston, RI) to assess postoperative outcome measures of early and late complications and hernia recurrence. SpermaTex is a bilayer surgical mesh prosthesis consisting of a fibrosis-inducing layer of polypropylene mesh bonded to a fibrosis-inhibiting layer of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene. One hundred male patients with unilateral primary inguinal hernia, with a mean age of 49 years, underwent hernia repair with the open anterior approach using SpermaTex. Mean operative time was 35 minutes; there was 3% morbidity and no mortality. At a 14-day follow-up, no patients had postoperative pain; within 2-8 weeks, all patients had returned to their presurgical health condition, with no inguinal pain. At follow-ups of 3 months to 4 years, all 100 patients experienced no recurrence, and all had improved, although 3 patients developed chronic sinus tracts. This series shows a favorable postoperative outcome profile for the use of SpermaTex in inguinal hernia repair.