ArticleHernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery2025
Risk of adverse outcomes by plug and flat mesh following 90,319 open inguinal hernia repairs.
Article in Hernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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.
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.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Mesh Migration Into the Sigmoid Colon Identified After Positive Fecal Occult Blood Test: A Case Report.Cureus · 2026Article
- Single-Bundle Posterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Using Autologous Hamstrings With Mesh and Suture Tape Augmentation With Transtibial Tubercle Fixation.Arthroscopy techniques · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeWe sought to evaluate the risks for reoperation, recurrence, and groin pain following open inguinal hernia repair with a plug versus flat mesh.
methodsWe conducted a cohort study including 90,319 patients ≥ 18 years who underwent first elective open inguinal hernia repair with polyester/polypropylene mesh within a US integrated healthcare system (1/2010-6/2023). Plug versus flat mesh were the treatment groups. Reoperation related to the index hernia repair, as well as other reoperation reasons, and recurrence during follow-up were primary outcomes, while 5-year postoperative groin pain (excluding first 6-month postoperative acute recovery period) was a secondary outcome. Multiple Cox regression was used to evaluate risk of longitudinal outcomes, while multiple logistic regression was used to evaluate groin pain, with covariate adjustment.
resultsPlugs were used in 37,490 (41.5%) repairs; plug use declined from 53.0% in 2010 to 13.9% in the first six months of 2023. No difference in risk for reoperation (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.03, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.92-1.16) or recurrence (HR = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.83-1.04) was found for plug compared to flat mesh. A higher risk of reoperation for device infection was observed with plug use compared to flat mesh (HR = 2.71, 95% CI = 1.09-6.77). In adjusted analysis, no difference in the likelihood of groin pain was observed (odds ratio = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.00-1.17).
conclusionPlug mesh for open inguinal hernia repairs were not found to have improved outcomes compared to flat mesh but a higher risk of reoperation for infection. These findings align with the current literature, which generally advises against the use of mesh plugs due to associated risks and complications.
Indexed as
Identifiers
40327184What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.