ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:

Inguinal hernia is one of the most common surgical problems presenting to the surgical out patient department. Surgery being main treatment for hernia, surgical techniques of inguinal hernia has undergone a great development over a period of centuries and decades. Litchenstein’s tension free hernia repair have revolutionized the procedure and is the one of the first surgeries learnt by a surgery resident. Although the recurrence rates in hernia surgery have drastically been brought down by the placement of mesh, post operative pain still remain troublesome in hernia repair. Polyester is an softer pliable material offering the benefit of less post operative pain and improved quality of life than the routinely used polypropylene mesh

METHODS:

A prospective single blinded randomized control trial involving 144 patients who underwent Lichtenstein tension free repair were divided equally in 2 groups Group A - polypropylene mesh(n=72) and Group B polyester mesh (n=72). All the patients were operated by a single surgeon to maintain uniformity. Postoperatively, pain was assessed and compared using Visual Analogue Score (VAS) at 12 hours, 24 hours and 48 hours in the hospital and at 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months on outpatient basis. Additional analgesic requirements were recorded and postoperative complications were noted and compared.

CONCLUSION:

The usage of polyester mesh in open inguinal hernia repair was comparable and superior with that of polypropylene mesh in terms of less early and intermediate post operative pain, decreased additional analgesic requirements and reduced duration of stay in the hospital.