Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37038022›Full record

ArticleSurgical endoscopy2023

Mediumweight polypropylene mesh fractures after open retromuscular ventral hernia repair: incidence and associated risk factors.

Sara Maskal, Benjamin Miller, Ryan Ellis, Sharon Phillips, Ajita Prabhu, Lucas Beffa, David Krpata, Steven Rosenblatt, Michael Rosen, Clayton Petro

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Surgical endoscopy, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
12citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  7. "Long-term outcomes of ventral hernia repair using heavyweight non-woven polypropylene mesh".Hernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Sara MaskalDepartment of General Surgery, Center for Abdominal Core Health, Cleveland Clinic, 9500 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH, 44195, USA. Maskals2@ccf.org.ORCID 0000-0001-7072-1944
Benjamin MillerDepartment of General Surgery, Center for Abdominal Core Health, Cleveland Clinic, 9500 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH, 44195, USA.
Ryan EllisDepartment of General Surgery, Center for Abdominal Core Health, Cleveland Clinic, 9500 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH, 44195, USA.
Sharon PhillipsVanderbilt University Nashville, Nashville, TN, USA.
Ajita PrabhuDepartment of General Surgery, Center for Abdominal Core Health, Cleveland Clinic, 9500 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH, 44195, USA.
Lucas BeffaDepartment of General Surgery, Center for Abdominal Core Health, Cleveland Clinic, 9500 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH, 44195, USA.
David KrpataDepartment of General Surgery, Center for Abdominal Core Health, Cleveland Clinic, 9500 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH, 44195, USA.
Steven RosenblattDepartment of General Surgery, Center for Abdominal Core Health, Cleveland Clinic, 9500 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH, 44195, USA.
Michael RosenDepartment of General Surgery, Center for Abdominal Core Health, Cleveland Clinic, 9500 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH, 44195, USA.
Clayton PetroDepartment of General Surgery, Center for Abdominal Core Health, Cleveland Clinic, 9500 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH, 44195, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeMediumweight (MW) and heavyweight (HW) polypropylene have demonstrated similar clinical and patient-reported outcomes in the setting of open retromuscular ventral hernia repair (VHR). While MW mesh has an anecdotal risk of central mesh fracture, that phenomenon is not well-characterized. We sought to assess the incidence of and risk factors for MW polypropylene mesh fractures after VHR.

methodsThe ACHQC registry was queried for patients with CT-documented hernia recurrence after open retromuscular VHR with MW polypropylene mesh at our institution with 1-year follow-up between January 2014 and April 2022. Images were reviewed by five blinded surgeons at Cleveland Clinic to reach consensus that hernia recurrence mechanism was central mesh fracture. Patients without clinical recurrence or patient-reported bulge were used as a comparator group.

resultsEighty patients were identified with radiographically documented recurrence; 28 had recurrence from mesh fractures and these were compared to 644 patients without recurrence. Incidence of MW fracture was 4.2%. Bridging of anterior fascia was more common in the group with the central mesh fracture (33.3% vs 3.3%, p < 0.001); the incidence of fracture was 30% (9/30) in patients requiring a bridged closure. Mesh fracture was associated with larger hernias (median width: 20 cm [16-26] vs 15 cm [12-18], p < 0.001,), length (25 cm [23-30] vs 23 cm [19-26], p = 0.004).

conclusionMW polypropylene mechanical failures are surprisingly common, particularly in settings of bridged fascial closure and larger hernias. Use of HW polypropylene should be considered in this setting, and industry should be encouraged to create larger pieces of HW polypropylene mesh.

Indexed as

Hernia, VentralPolypropylenesHerniorrhaphyHumansIncidenceRecurrenceRisk FactorsSurgical MeshPolypropylenesHeavyweight polypropyleneHerniaMediumweight propyleneMesh fracture

Identifiers

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.