Meta-analysis of controlled studies comparing biologic and synthetic unabsorbable mesh in contaminated fields

In 2019, approximately U$9.7 billion were invested in abdominal wall surgery in the United States. Opting for a biological mesh can increase the cost by more than $8000 per surgery when compared to a polypropylene mesh.

This meta-analysis evaluated controlled studies comparing biological and synthetic mesh in contaminated environments with the primary outcome being Surgical Site Infection (SSI) and assessing other outcomes such as hernia recurrence, re-admission or reoperation, mesh removal, surgical site occurrence, hospitalization length of stay. The systematic search was conducted in PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases in accordance with the PRSIMA guidelines, searching for controlled studies comparing the use of biologic mesh against synthetic polypropylene mesh in patients with center of disease control infected site classification (CDC) class II or higher.

1036 studies were found and 19 were selected for full-text review and 8 were included in the comparative analysis of outcomes. The systematic analysis indicated a higher risk of SSI development in patients with biological mesh compared to synthetic mesh (P = 0.03) with high heterogeneity with and higher risk of hernia recurrence (P < 0.0001). Also, no apparent benefit was found for the biological mesh group in terms of reoperation (P = 0.54) or mesh removal (P = 0.96), nor regarding surgical site occurrence (hematoma P = 0. 51; seroma P = 0.57) or intra-abdominal infection (P = 0.31).

This study found no evidence of superiority for biological meshes over synthetic meshes in CDC Class II to IV contaminated environments regarding major postoperative complications following abdominal reconstruction.