Evaluation of Long-term Performance of the GORE SYNECOR Intraperitoneal Biomaterial in the Treatment of Inguinal Hernias

The objective of this study was to analyze device safety and clinical outcomes of inguinal hernia repair with the GORE SYNECOR Intraperitoneal Biomaterial device, a hybrid composite mesh. METHODS: This retrospective case review analyzed device/procedure endpoints beyond 1 year in patients treated for inguinal hernia repair with the device. Three objectives were evaluated: procedural endpoint—incidence through 30 days of surgical site infection, surgical site occurrence (SSO), ileus, readmission, reoperation, and death; device endpoint—serious device incidence of mesh erosion, infection, excision/removal, exposure, migration, shrinkage, device-related bowel obstruction and fistula, and hernia recurrence through 12 months; and patient-reported outcomes of the bulge, physical symptoms, and pain. RESULTS: A total of 157 patients (mean age: 67±13 y) with 201 inguinal hernias (mean size: 5.1±5 cm(2)) were included. Laparoscopic approach and bridging repair were performed in 99.4% of patients. All device location was preperitoneal. No procedure-related adverse events within 30 days were reported. No surgical site infection or SSO events or device-related hernia recurrence occurred through 12 months. Procedure-related serious adverse events occurred in 6 patients; 5 recurrent inguinal hernias (at 1 and 2 y) and 1 scrotal hematoma (at 6 mo). Through 24 months, no SSO events requiring procedural intervention occurred. Through 50 months, 6 (2.98%) patients had confirmed hernia recurrence and 4 (1.99%) patients had hernia reoperation. The patient-reported outcome for pain was reported by 7.9% (10/126) of patients who completed the questionnaire. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, inguinal hernia repair with the hybrid composite mesh was successful in most patients and the rate of recurrence was low, further supporting the long-term safety and device performance.