Patient-reported chronic pain after open inguinal hernia repair with lightweight or heavyweight mesh: a prospective, patient-reported outcomes study.

Background: Chronic pain after groin hernia repair is a significant problem, and it is unclear whether or not lightweight meshes help. This national register-based study investigated whether patients who underwent open anterior mesh inguinal hernia repair with lightweight mesh had less chronic pain than those who had hernia repair with heavyweight mesh.

Methods: All patients registered in the Swedish Hernia Register between September 2012 and October 2016 were asked to complete a questionnaire assessing patient-reported outcome measures 1 year after surgery. The present study examined open anterior repair with mesh sutured in place with non-absorbable sutures in male patients only. The primary endpoint, chronic pain, was defined as pain present in the past week that could not be ignored and interfered with concentration (on chores) and daily activities.

Results: In total, 23 259 male patients provided data for analysis (response rate 70·6 per cent). Rates of chronic pain after repairs using regular polypropylene lightweight mesh, composite (poliglecaprone-25) polypropylene lightweight mesh and polypropylene heavyweight mesh were 15·8, 15·6 and 16·2 per cent respectively. Adjusted multiple logistic regression analysis showed no significant differences between regular (odds ratio (OR) 0·98, 95 per cent c.i. 0·90 to 1·06) or composite (OR 0·95, 0·86 to 1·04) lightweight mesh versus heavyweight mesh. The most striking risk factor for chronic pain was young age; 19·4 per cent of patients aged less than 50 years experienced pain 1 year after hernia repair (OR 1·43, 1·29 to 1·60).

Conclusion: Patient-reported chronic pain 1 year after open mesh repair of inguinal hernia was common, particularly in young men. The risk of developing chronic pain was not influenced by the type of mesh.