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Background: Since conventional suture repair for incisional hernia is associated with high recurrence rates, alloplastic and autoplastic prosthetic techniques have been suggested. Methods: In a randomized trial, 160 patients with simple or complex hernias underwent either suture repair, autodermal skin graft or onlay polypropylene mesh repair. Suture repair was not done in complex hernias. This report concerns a planned interim analysis. Results: At mean follow-up of 16 months, there were 17 hernia recurrences that were distributed similarly between the surgical techniques. There were fewer infectious complications after suture repair (three of 33 patients) than after skin graft or mesh repair (seven of 39 and five of 28 for simple hernias; seven of 31 and ten of 29 respectively for complex hernias) (P not significant). The severity of infections after polypropylene mesh implantation prompted the trial committee to discontinue the study. No differences were noted in duration of stay in hospital and quality of life. However, pain was significantly more frequent after polypropylene mesh repair (pooled risk ratio 2·9 and 1·8 at 6 weeks and 1 year respectively). Conclusion: Suture repair was safe for small incisional hernias. Both autoplastic and alloplastic hernia repair yielded comparably low recurrence rates, but led to a high rate of wound infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the role of the European Association for Endoscopic Surgery (EAES) in the development and evaluation of endoscopic surgery. The authors mention that the EAES Research Committee has decided to foster the development and performance of clinical trials by providing a coordinating and supporting center for running such trials on a European basis. They announce that EAES members can now submit their study ideas electronically using the template form on the EAES website.

The article discusses the results of the LAPSIS laparoscopy surgery trial conducted by the European Hernia Society. The study compares the effectiveness of open retromascular and laparoscopy repair, and the application of a non-cross-linked biological mesh. The study was terminated on August 7, 2009 by the Independent Data Monitoring Committee (IDMC) due to low patient requirement rate, incomplete data and higher preliminary recurrence rate in the biological mesh. The authors warns people against the use of Surgisis® Gold™ mesh.