Hernias are often treated using a prosthetic mesh to add support to the healing wound. Prosthetic meshes have been used for decades to repair ventral hernias, level 1 data regarding which type of mesh to use is limited. The purpose of this study is to compare the effects, good and/or bad, of two types of prosthetic meshes: one that is made from pig skin (called a "biologic prosthetic"), and one that is made in a laboratory (called a "synthetic prosthetic"). This study will include some patients who have an infection in/near the hernia, and other patients who do not have an infection. We expect the synthetic mesh to be associated with a higher rate of early post-operative surgical site infection and fluid collections (seromas), while we expect the biologic mesh to be associated with a higher rate of recurrence.
This is a prospective, single-blind, randomized study comparing the clinical efficacy and overall costs of two prosthetic meshes in the repair of complex ventral hernias. The two prosthetic meshes to be studied are Ventralight (Bard, Murray Hill, NJ), a synthetic mesh chiefly made of polypropylene and Strattice (LifeCell, Branchburg, NJ), a biologic mesh derived from porcine dermis. The study population will consist of patients who are in need of a repair of a complex ventral hernia. Patients will be enrolled in the study for 24 months following their operation or until they experience a recurrence of their hernia, whichever occurs first. The primary outcome variable is recurrence and the secondary outcome variables are post-operative surgical site infections and overall costs. There is no universally agreed upon definition of what constitutes a "complex" ventral hernia. For our purposes, a "complex" ventral hernia is one that involves a compromised surgical field, in which gastrointestinal, biliary, or genitourinary procedures are performed, one in which the wound class is considered clean-contaminated, contaminated, or dirty due to other causes, such as infected meshes and enterocutaneous fistulas, or surgical procedures conducted in patients with large ventral hernia defects (\>10 cm in any single dimension).
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
165
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, California, United States
Number of Patients Who Had a Recurrence of Hernia, at Anytime, up to Two Years Following Repair.
Number of patients who had a recurrence of hernia, at anytime, up to two years following repair as determined by physical examination, ultrasound or CT scan.
Time frame: up to 24 months after surgery
Number of Patients Who Experienced Surgical Site Infections.
Number of patients who experienced surgical site infections as determined by physical examination.
Time frame: 30 days after surgery
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