Inguinal hernia is one of the most common surgical diseases, mainly in men and elderly people, and its occurrence and development are related to many risk factors. At present, inguinal hernia can only be cured with surgery, which requires the selection of surgical methods based on patients′ conditions, medical resources and surgeons′ skills. With the aging of the popula-tion, it is expected that the number of inguinal hernia patients will continue to increase. The authors review the epidemiology, risk factors and characteristics of surgical treatment mode of inguinal hernia based on the epidemiological studies of inguinal hernia in recent years.

Objective:To investigate the application value of porcine small intestinal sub-mucosa (SIS) acellular matrix mesh in laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair (LIHR).Methods:The prospective multicenter randomized controlled single-blind non-inferiority-type study was conducted. The clinical data of 216 patients who underwent LIHR in 4 medical centers, including Beijing Chaoyang Hospital of Capital Medical University et al, from April 2021 to August 2022 were selected. Patients were divided into two groups using a central randomization system. Patients in the experimental group were implanted domestic SIS mesh, and patients in the control group were implanted imported mesh of similar material origin. The baseline characteristics of enrolled patients were evaluated using the full analysis set, and the effectiveness indicators were evaluated using the protocol set. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD, and comparison between groups was conducted using the ttest. Measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M(range), and comparison between groups was conducted using the Wilcoxon rank sum test. Count data were expressed as absolute numbers and/or percentages, and comparison between groups was conducted using the chi-square test or Fisher exact probability. If the lower limit of 95% confidence interval( CI) of the difference in effective rates between the experimental group and the control group was greater than the non-inferiority cut-off value of ?10%, the experimental group was considered non-inferior to the control group. Results:(1) Situations of the enrolled patients. A total of 216 patients were selected for eligibility, with 46 patients dropping out due to violation of the trial protocol, and the remaining 170 patients were included in the full analysis set. Nine patients were dislodged due to loss to follow-up, and 161 patients completed follow-up. One case in the experimental group was excluded due to violating the inclusion and exclusion criteria, while the remaining 160 patients were included in the protocol set (80 cases in the experimental group and 80 cases in the control group). There was no significant difference in the gender, age, body mass index (BMI), surgical method, Gilbert type of hernia, volume of intraoperative blood loss, operation time of patients between the experimental group and the control group ( P>0.05), confounding bias ensured comparability. (2) Study endpoints. ① Primary study endpoint. During the postoperative 6 month of follow-up, none of patient in the experimental group or the control group had hernia recurrence, with the recurrence rate as 0. Results of non-inferiority test showed that the difference of hernia recurrence between the two groups was 0 (95% CI as ?4.58% to 4.58%), with the lower limit of ?4.58% greater than the non-inferiority cut-off value of ?10%, which fulfilled the non-inferiority hypothesis. ② Secondary study endpoints. Cases with plasmapheresis during the follow-up were 18 in the experimental group and 29 in the control group, respectively, showing no significant difference between the two groups ( χ2=3.65, P>0.05). There were 4 cases with postoperative pain and 1 case with postoperative malaise in the experimental group, and there were 8 cases with postoperative pain and 0 case with postoperative malaise in the control group, showing no signifi-cant difference in the above indicators between the two groups ( P>0.05). None of patient in the experimental group or the control group had incision infection, enterocutaneous fistula, intestinal obstruction, intestinal canal injury, allergy and rejection, testicular inflammation and/or atrophy, or any other complication. Conclusion:Compared with imported mesh of similar material origin, domestic porcine SIS mesh is safe and effective in LIHR.

In recent years, due to the increasing population of ageing and obesity, the incidence rate of hernia is increasing year by year, which has become a social problem that needs to be focused. Although starting late, the hernia and abdominal wall surgery has developed rapidly in recent years in China, and many remarkable achievements have been made. The development of hernia and abdominal wall surgery is inseparable from the progress of medical technology, the continuous innovation of materials, the improvement of perioperative management concept and the improvement of registration and follow-up system. The authors investigate the relevant research at home and abroad in recent years, and summarize and prospect the materials science, the daytime surgery and the registration and follow-up system, in order to provide reference for the future development of hernia and abdominal wall surgery.

Objective:To investigate the characteristics and surgical management of mesh infection after tension-free repair of inguinal hernia.Methods:The clinical and follow-up data of 87 patients with mesh infection after tension-free repair of inguinal hernia at the Department of Hernia and Abdominal Wall Surgery,Beijing Chaoyang Hospital from 2018 to 2020 were retrospectively analyzed.Results:The most frequent type of repair was plug implantation, accounting for 57.5% of the procedures. The most common clinical presentation was a chronic sinus. 79.3% patients had a >3-month history of chronic infection. Staphylococcus aureus was the most common bacteria. All patients underwent open debridement. Fifty-one patients had a complete removal of the infected mesh, and 36 had partial removal. All patients were followed up for 18.7-54.2 months. There was no significant difference in the incidence of wound infection, seroma, hematoma, inguinal hernia recurrence, and chronic pain between those with complete removal and that partial removal (all P>0.05). Seventeen cases suffered recurrent sinus in the partial mesh removal group, and the incidence was significantly higher than that in the complete mesh removal group ( P<0.001). Conclusion:Infected mesh removal is an effective treatment for mesh infection after tension-free repair of inguinal hernia and should be removed as completely as possible.

Young patients have unique characteristics in terms of body structure and fertility needs. There is currently no consensus on the definition and treatment of inguinal hernia in adolescents and young adults. Biodegradable meshes are materials derived from homologous or heterologous tissues, which retain the three-dimensional fiber structure containing collagen after special processing. They can meet the requirements of high comfort and low impact on fertility while ensuring repair strength. The authors define inguinal hernia in young adults based on recent research results and summarize the application effect of biological meshes.

Objective:To investigate the surgical treatment of mesh infection after lapa-roscopic inguinal hernia repair.Methods:The retrospective and descriptive study was conducted. The clinical data of 32 patients with mesh infection after laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair who were admitted to the Affiliated Beijing Chaoyang Hospital of Capital Medical University from January 2018 to December 2020 were collected. There were 30 males and 2 females, aged 59(range, 19-81)years. All patients underwent debridement. Observation indicators: (1) surgical and postopera-tive situations; (2) follow-up. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD, and comparison between groups was conducted using the independent sample t test. Measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M(range). Count data were described as absolute numbers or percentages, and comparison between was conducted using Fisher exact probability. Results:(1) Surgical and postoperative situations. All 32 patients underwent debridement success-fully, with the operation time and volume of intraoperative blood loss as 110(range, 45-220)minutes and 24(range, 5-200)mL. Of the 32 patients, there were 6 cases undergoing open debridement, 26 cases undergoing laparoscopic exploration with 12 cases clarified the cause of infection, in which 4 cases had intestinal fistula by mesh infection breaking through the peritoneum and invading the intestinal tract and underwent laparoscopic intestinal fistula repair, 3 cases had significant amount of residual medical glue, 3 cases had mesh wrinkling and curling, 2 cases underwent peritoneum suturing with black silk thread. There were 18 cases undergoing complete removal of infected mesh and 14 cases undergoing partial mesh removal. There were 18 cases undergoing removal of infected mesh by laparoscopic posterior approach and 14 cases undergoing removal of infected mesh by open anterior approach. Twenty-nine of the 32 patients had bacterial culture and drug allergy testing, including 24 cases with positive cultures, while 5 cases with negative cultures. The duration of hospital stay of the 32 patients was 27.0(range, 9.0-85.0)days. (2) Follow-up. All 32 patients were followed up for 37.9(range, 18.7-52.5)months. There were 5 cases and 2 cases with postoperative incision infection in the 18 patients undergoing complete removal of infected mesh and 14 cases undergoing partial mesh removal, respectively, showing no significant difference between them ( P>0.05). There were 7 cases, 4 cases with seroma, recurrent sinus in the 18 patients undergoing complete removal of infected mesh and 5 cases, 6 cases in the 14 cases undergoing partial mesh removal, respectively, showing no significant difference between them ( P>0.05). None of patient in the two groups had hematoma, recurrent inguinal hernia or chronic pain. The 7 patients with incision infec-tion recovered effectively after symptomatic treatment. The 12 patients with seroma received no special treatment. The 10 patients with recurrent sinus underwent debridement, in which 9 cases did not experience any further abdominal wall infections and 1 case underwent the third debride-ment. Conclusion:The management of mesh infection following laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair necessitates the expertise of hernia specialists to complete remove the infected mesh or partial remove the infected mesh based on the specific clinical scenario.

Objective:To investigate the application value of combined open and laparos-copic incisional hernia repair (hereinafter referred to as hybrid technique) in the treatment of recurrent incisional hernia.Methods:The retrospective and descriptive study was conducted. The clinical data of 36 patients with recurrent incisional hernia who were admitted to the Affiliated Beijing Chaoyang Hospital of Capital Medical University from January 2015 to December 2021 were collected. There were 10 males and 26 females, aged 62(range, 25-83)years. All patients underwent incisional hernia repair using the hybrid technique. Observation indicators: (1) intraoperative situa-tions; (2) postoperative situations; (3) follow-up. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD, and measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M(range). Count data were described as absolute numbers. Results:(1) Intraoperative situations. All 36 patients did not undergo component separation and successfully closed the hernia defect before completing the surgery. The operation time, defect area and area of mesh of the 36 patients were (102±41)minutes, (73±39)cm 2 and 300(range, 150-600)cm 2. Of the 36 patients, 9 cases required complete removal of the previous mesh, 2 cases had partial removal of the previous mesh and 25 cases did not require mesh removal. Two of the 36 patients had intestinal serosal tears, which needed suture repair during the operation. (2) Postoperative situations. Eight of the 36 patients had post-operative complications, including 6 cases of seroma, 1 case of subcutaneous hematoma and 1 case of undetected iatrogenic intestinal injury during the operation. The duration of the postoperative hospital stay of the 36 patients was 14(range, 7-57)days. (3) Follow-up. All 36 patients were followed up for 64 (range, 13-96)months. During the follow-up period, 2 cases had hernia recurrence and 1 case had intestinal obstruction. Conclusion:The hybrid technique in the treatment of recurrent incisional hernia is safe and feasible.

Objective:To investigate the application value of ambulatory surgery mode for small and medium abdominal wall hernia repair.Methods:The retrospective and descriptive study was conducted. The clinical data of 33 patients with small and medium abdominal wall hernia who were admitted to Beijing Chaoyang Hospital of Capital Medical University from January 2019 to January 2021 were collected. There were 19 males and 14 females, aged 54(range, 26?85)years. Patients individually underwent Onlay repair, Sublay repair, intraperitoneal onlay mesh repair (IPOM)according to the diagnosis and treatment mode of ambulatory surgery. Observation indicators: catogaries of small and medium abdominal wall hernia, surgical methods, intraoperative measured diameter of hernia ring defect, operation time, volume of intraoperative blood loss, duration of hospital stay, delayed discharge of patients, hospitalization expenses, postoperative follow-up, complications, postoperative visual analogue scale of pain, chronic pain, postoperative satisfaction. Follow-up using telephone interview or outpatient examinations was conducted to detect hernia recurrence, surgical-related complications (wound infection, pain, hematoma or seroma, intestinal leakage, intestinal obstruction) and postoperative satisfaction at postoperative 3 days, 7 days, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD. Measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M(range), and count data were represented as absolute numbers. Results:Of the 33 patients, 16 cases had umbilical hernia, 14 cases had incisional hernia, 3 cases had lumbar hernia. There were 7 patients treated with Onlay repair, 16 with Sublay repair, and 10 cases with IPOM. The intraoperative measured diameter of hernia ring defect, operation time and volume of intraoperative blood loss of 33 patients were 2.8(range, 1.0?6.0)cm, 51(range, 20?85)minutes, 4.3(range, 1.0?10.0)mL. The duration of hospital stay of 33 patients was 24?48 hours, including 25 cases with duration of hospital stay ≤24 hours, 8 cases with duration of hospital stay >24 hours and ≤48 hours. Of the 8 patients undergoing IPOM with delayed discharge, 5 cases had postoperative pain and 3 cases had dizziness, nausea and vomiting after general anesthesia. They were recovered and discharged from hospital after observation and symptomatic support until the next morning. The hospitalization expenses were 17 139(range, 6404?34 124)yuan. All the 33 patients were followed up regularly after operation. No hernia recur-rence, wound infection, hematoma and seroma, intestinal fistula or intestinal obstruction was observed during the follow-up period. From postoperative 3 days to 12 months, the visual analogue scale of pain was from 2.90±0.10 to 0 for patients with Onlay repair, from 3.10 ±0.10 to 0 for patients with Sublay repair, from 3.50 ±0.20 to 0 for patients with IPOM. No patient suffered from chronic pain after the operation and postoperative satisfaction of patients was 100%. Conclusion:The ambulatory surgery mode has safety and feasibility in small and medium abdominal wall hernia repair.

Abdominal rectus diastasis is common in postpartum women and obese people, with clinical manifestations of midline abdominal bulge and lower back pain. Severe cases may affect the function of abdominal wall muscle groups, which cause a series of physiological dysfunction. There are few studies on the diagnosis and optimal management of abdominal rectus diastasis, especially on its surgical indications, and no uniform conclusion is achieved. The authors comprehensively analyze the research progress at home and abroad, exploring the etiology, diagnosis, treatment options and surgical indications of abdominal rectus diastasis, in order to provide references for clinical practice.

In the past, hernia and abdominal wall surgery has been ignored, which may endanger the life of patients due to untimely treatment. In 1997, the concept of tension-free hernia repair was introduced to China. Chinese hernia and abdominal wall surgery entered a new era and developed rapidly. In 2015, scholars in China decided to create our own Hernia Registry. In 2017, Hernia Registry was officially released, and the Chinese Hernia Surgery Alliance was established in the same period. The Chinese Hernia Registry has became the second largest Hernia clinical registry database in the world. Although the follow-up rate needs to be improved, it is possible to have a preliminary understanding and analysis of the incidence of hernia disease in China. There are many difficulties in its application, and it requires the multi-level coordination and long-term commitment. The authors hope that through this work, the diagnosis and treatment of hernia and abdominal wall can be improved, and the ability of communication and cooperation at home and abroad will be enhanced, benefiting the general population of hernia patients.