Fibrin glue for securing the mesh in laparoscopic totally extraperitoneal inguinal hernia repair: a study with a 40-month prospective follow-up period.

BACKGROUND: Anchoring the mesh in laparoscopic totally extraperitoneal groin hernia repair (TEP) with human fibrin glue has theoretical advantages. However, these have been supported and reported previously only in animal studies. Before the initiation of large patient trials, the authors wanted to confirm the feasibility, assess the costs, and rule out any flagrant short- and long-term adverse effects of fibrin glue usage in a small series of patients.

METHODS: Nine consecutive TEP repairs with fibrin glue mesh fixation were performed. The perioperative and postoperative outcomes at 1, 16, and 40 months were compared with those for a control group of 96 stapled repairs.

RESULTS: Gluing was easy and is less expensive than stapling. No fibrin glue-related adverse effects were found. The overall outcome was similar to that for stapled repairs, with no indication that the glued repairs were inferior.

CONCLUSIONS: Fibrin glue seems to be a reasonable, feasible, and maybe even competitive alternative to the standard tissue-penetrating mesh fixation. The results of this study justify launching larger trials.