Prostheses Used in Laparoscopic Inguinal Hernia Repair: Biocompatibility, Postoperative Complications and Quality of Life - Review of the Literature.

INTRODUCTION: There is a continuous concern about meshes used in laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair, which mainly relates to their biocompatibility and ability to decrease postoperative complications and recurrence rate; in other words, efforts are made to find the "ideal" prosthesis.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate different prostheses used in laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair in terms of biocompatibility, postoperative complications, recurrence rate and quality of life, so that all the features could lead us to the "ideal" mesh.

MATERIAL AND METHOD: Randomized controlled trials, reviews, prospective and retrospective studies, retrospective cross-sectional and experimental studies on animals published between 2000 and 2016 were analysed with respect to several features of a mesh: biocompatibility, postoperative complications, recurrence rate and quality of life.

OUTCOMES: The most common comparison is between heavy-weight and light-weight mesh used in laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair. Experimental studies try to discover the "ideal" prosthesis, which could provide improved biocompatibility, low postoperative complications, decreased recurrence rate and good quality of life. The most commonly used mesh that meats the characteristics of an "ideal" prosthesis is a light-weight monofilament macroporous polypropylene mesh, with a minimum tensile strength >16 N/cm², measuring 10x15 cm.

CONCLUSIONS: Published data show that the "ideal" prosthesis used in laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair has not been discovered yet. Regarding heavy- or light-weight meshes, there is no significant effect on recurrence, acute or chronic pain, incidence of seroma or return to daily activity and quality of life (1).