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Our top priority is providing value to members. Your Member Services team is here to ensure you maximize your ACS member benefits, participate in College activities, and engage with your ACS colleagues. It's all here.

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Literature Selections

Long-Acting Resorbable Meshes Show Lowest 5-Year Recurrence in Ventral Hernia Repair

Synopsis by Lewis Flint, MD, FACS

June 10, 2025

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Elemosho A, Janis JE. Comparative Long-term Performance of Biologic, Synthetic, and Long-acting Resorbable Meshes in Ventral Hernia Repair: Population Survival Kinetics Approach. J Am Coll Surg. 2025, in press.

Available data from retrospective, observational studies and systematic reviews of the literature suggest that ventral hernia repair (VHR) with synthetic mesh has superior results compared to biologic mesh, but long-term recurrence rates are significant—up to 23% at 13 years postoperative follow up—regardless of the mesh type utilized.

Long-acting resorbable meshes have recently become available with encouraging outcomes but at high cost. Recurrence rates increase with increasing reoperations for hernia recurrence.

This study used a mathematical technique (population survival kinetics) to determine time to recurrence according to the mesh type used for VHR repair. The data analysis showed that the lowest 5-year recurrence rates were observed in patients repaired with synthetic or long-acting resorbable meshes (27% and 23%), even when these meshes were used in contaminated wounds.

The time-to recurrence analysis suggested that patients repaired with biologic or synthetic mesh should be evaluated for recurrence at 6-month intervals for 2 years and then annually. Patients repaired with long-acting resorbable mesh should be evaluated annually beginning at 12 months postoperatively.