A comparative study of mesh fixation with polypropylene sutures (prolene) versus polyglactin sutures (vicryl) sutures in assessing inguinodynia in open inguinal hernia repair

Abstract

Background: Inguinal hernia, the most frequently occurring type of hernia globally, Chronic groin pain could be related to nerve mangling while operating. Mesh repair can lead to an inflammatory reaction over a period of time, though it still needs ground work to find out exact cause of pain. So this study aims to compare the effectiveness of polyglactin versus prolene sutures in reducing the post-operative pain in inguinal hernia repair.Methods: A one year hospital prospective study in KLE hospital. A total of 60 adult patients were divided into two groups of 30 each. Mesh fixation with polyglactin sutures was group A (30) and mesh fixation with polypropylene sutures was group B (30) and then post-operative pain, was assessed. Follow-up was for 3 months. Collected data was analyzed using chi–square tests, Mann-Whitney U tests.Results: Our analysis showed that the incidence of postoperative groin pain with mean severity scores of 1.37±0.49 versus 1.43±0.50; 1.40±0.50 versus 1.57±0.73; 1.03±0.61 versus 1.50±0.057; 0.77±0.63 versus 1.30±0.79; at post-operative day 1, 3 in both groups were similar and statistically not significant whereas the 1 week and 3 months follow up in group A and B respectively, were significant (p<0.05).Conclusions: The post-op chronic groin pain is significantly low, hence routine usage of polyglactin sutures to fix a mesh is a safe and effective alternative to polypropylene sutures in Lichtenstein hernia repair.