A prospective study of adult inguinal hernia repairs using absorbable sutures

A prospective study was conducted over a 5-year period to determine whether inguinal hernia repair could be safely performed with absorbable suture material (polydioxanone) with reference to recurrence rates, wound pain, haematoma formation and wound infection. Analysis is available for 111 operations involving 111 patients. Mean follow-up was 36 (range 21-66) months, with 81 procedures monitored for more than 2 years. Two-layered hernia repair was used in all cases with polydioxanone as the chosen suture material. Mean post-operative stay was 2.1 days, with no hospital wound infections and three haematomas. Review identified 1 wound infection. There have been two recurrences. Preliminary results suggest that hernia repair with absorbable suture materials is comparable to traditional non-absorbable repair in terms of recurrence and associated wound complications. The additional benefit is the absence of foreign material in the wound region following degradation of the absorbable material. This does not appear to compromise the integrity of the hernia repair. Mesh repairs are increasingly preferred to Shouldice-style repairs in elective inguinal hernias. However, we believe that polydioxanone should be the suture material of choice in obstructed or strangulated hernia. A larger study is required to verify this, as well as a longer follow-up period. The use of absorbable material warrants further investigation.