Infection and recurrence rates of the C-QUR V-Patch™ in ventral hernia repairs

Abstract

Purpose: Ventral hernias are a common surgical issue and a myriad of surgical mesh designs has been developed for their treatment. Many of these new mesh designs have not been extensively tested and their complications rates are largely unknown. The C-QUR V-Patch Mesh^™ combines a unique knit construction polypropylene mesh with an omega-3 fatty acid coating. There has only previously been one reported study investigating this mesh.

Methods: A multicentre cohort study, with a single surgeon, of 168 consecutive patients with ventral hernias underwent repair using a standardized open pre-peritoneal approach with the novel C-QUR V-Patch Mesh^™ between January 2013 and June 2015. A median follow-up of 37 months was completed to assess the patients for hernia infection and recurrence rates. Mesh infections were further classified into early and late infections for further subgroup analysis.

Results: Infection and recurrence rates of the C-QUR V-Patch^® were compared with similar published results of alternate mesh designs. Surgical site infection rates were 7.7% and recurrence rates were 2.4%. The infection rate rose dramatically to 19.0% when the mesh was placed intra-peritoneally. The rate of mesh explantation was 2.4% and usually occurred between 4 and 12 months post-operatively. Smoking was the only factor that appeared to be associated with recurrence.

Conclusion: This series finds that recurrence rates associated with the novel C-QUR V-Patch Mesh^™ is acceptably low; however, infection rates appear to be higher when compared to comparable products for use in ventral hernia repairs.

Keywords: Mesh; Umbilical hernia; Ventral hernia.