Objective To observe the clinical effect of vacuum sealing drainage (VSD) in the treatment of mesh infection following inguinal hernia repair. Methods A total of 24 patients who suffered form mesh infection following inguinal hernia repair and got treatment in our hospital from February 2012 to December 2015 were collected and divided into 2 groups according to the type of treatment, 12 patients (13 sides) of VSD group received treatment of VSD, and 12 patients (13 sides) of conventional group received conventional treatment. Comparison between the 2 groups in mesh retention rate, the wound healing time, hospitalization cost, and hospital stay was performed. Results There was significant difference in mesh retention rate〔76.9% (10/13)vs. 30.8% (4/13)〕, the wound healing time〔(20.5±4.4) dvs. (29.7± 6.7) d〕, hospitalization cost〔(18 430.1±7 180.2) RMBvs. (12 201.1±6 453.2) RMB〕, and hospital stay〔(23.5±4.1) dvs. (30.7±6.5) d〕between the VSD group and conventional group (P<0.050). Compared with conventional group, the mesh retention rate and hospitalization cost were higher, the wound healing time and hospital stay were shorter in VSD group. Conclusions VSD can effectively control the mesh infection following hernia repair, improve the mesh retention rate. The VSD can also promote growth of granulation tissue in cavity, shorten the wound healing time and hospital stay, but has a high hospitalization cost than conventional treatment.
Objective To summarize the experience of surgical treatment of late-onset mesh infection after open inguinal hernia tension-free repair. Methods The retrospective descriptive study was conducted. The clinical data of 128 mesh infection patients after open inguinal tension-free hernia who were admitted to the Department of General Surgery of Shaanxi Provincial People’s Hospital form December 2016 to December 2021 were collected. All patients underwent debridement under general anesthesia through a treatment process of laparoscopic exploration, methylene blue staining, removal of mesh, wound irrigation, and negative pressure closed drainage. Patients were observed for completion of surgery, postoperative recovery, and follow-up results. Results One hundred and twenty-eight patients underwent open debridement successfully. In 98 patients, no abnormality was found on laparoscopic exploration and the infected meshs were removed by direct debridement surgery. In 28 patients, laparoscopic exploration revealed that the meshs had broken through the peritoneum and were tightly adherent to the mesentery and intestinal canal. In 2 patients, revealed abdominal abscesses at the paracolic sulcus of the ascending colon and at the ileocecal tract. The infected meshs were removed relatively intact in 112 patients, and the residual meshs were not removed intact in 16 patients. The operative time of 128 patients were 75–345 minutes with an average of 154 minutes, the bleeding volume was 10–200 mL with an average of 37.4 mL, the time to remove the negative pressure drainage tube after surgery were 5–14 days with an average of 8.4 days, the postoperative hospital stay were 6–18 days with an average of 11.6 days. There were 114 cases of class A healing, 12 cases of class B healing, and 2 cases of class C healing. One hundred and twenty-eight patients underwent postoperative follow-up for 6 to 60 months, with a media follow-up time of 30 months. During the follow-up period, 4 patients developed ipsilateral inguinal hernia recurrence, 4 patients developed reinfection, and 3 patients developed varying degrees of pain in the inguinal region. Conclusions Late-onset mesh infection after open inguinal tension-free hernia repair requires removal mesh by surgical treatment. Laparoscopic exploration, methylene blue-assisted debridement, complete removal of the mesh, strict wound irrigation and negative pressure closure drainage are safe and reliable treatment.