Cytomorphological Effects of Lightweight and Heavyweight Polypropylene Mesh on the Ilioinguinal Nerve: An Experimental Study.

Objective This study aimed to investigate the cytomorphological effects of heavyweight and lightweight mesh on the ilioinguinal nerve in an experimental animal model. Methods Sixteen New Zealand male rabbits were included in the study. The left inguinal regions of the first six animals were assigned as controls and the right inguinal regions were assigned as the sham group. The left inguinal regions of the remaining 10 animals were assigned as the lightweight mesh group and the right inguinal regions were assigned as the heavyweight mesh group. No intervention was performed in the control group. In the sham group, only ilioinguinal nerve exploration was performed. In mesh groups, ilioinguinal nerve exploration was performed and the mesh was implanted on the ilioinguinal nerve. After three months, ilioinguinal nerve specimens were excised from both sides for cytomorphological examination. Results Myelin sheath thickening, separation of the myelin layers, and myelin vacuolization were more pronounced in the heavyweight mesh group compared to the lightweight mesh group. The G-ratio was moderately increased in the heavyweight mesh group when compared to other groups. The ratio of fibers with ≤4 µm diameter was higher in the lightweight mesh group compared to other groups, and the ratio of fibers with ≥9 µm diameter was higher in the heavyweight mesh group than in the other groups (p<0.05). Conclusion Both of the meshes induce cytomorphological alterations on the adjacent nerve tissues caused by foreign body reaction and compression. Ilioinguinal nerve degeneration was more pronounced in the heavyweight mesh than in the lightweight mesh. Histological alterations on the ilioinguinal nerves caused by different meshes may be related to chronic pain after hernia surgery. We believe our study will serve as a guide for future studies on the topic.

Does COVID-19 increase the incidence of spontaneous rectus sheath hematoma?

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic started to affect Turkey in March 2020. In this study, we retrospectively investigated spontaneous rectus sheath hematoma (S-RSH) in patients with COVID-19 presenting with acute abdominal pain during the ongoing pandemic. METHODS: The demographic characteristics, laboratory findings, length of hospital stay, and treatment processes of COVID-19 cases with S-RSH detected between March and December 2020 were recorded. The rectus sheath hematoma diagnosis of the patients was made using abdominal computed tomography, and the patients were followed up. Low-molecular-weight heparin treatment, which was initiated upon admission, was continued during the follow-up. RESULTS: S-RSH was detected in 13 out of 220 patients with COVID-19 who were referred to general surgery for consultation due to acute abdominal pain. The mean age of these patients was 78±13 years, and the female-to-male ratio was 1.6. Mechanical ven-tilation support was applied to three patients, all of whom were followed up in the intensive care unit. Two patients died for reasons independent of rectus sheath hematoma during their treatment. Among the laboratory findings, the activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) values did not deviate from the normal range. While there was no correlation between the international normalized ratio (INR) and aPTT (p>0.01), a significant correlation was found between INR and interleukin-6 (IL-6) (p<0.002). None of the patients required surgical or endovascular interventional radiology procedures. CONCLUSION: In the literature, the incidence of S-RSH in patients presenting with acute abdominal pain is 1.8%. However, in our series, this rate was approximately 3 times higher. Our patients' normal INR and aPTT values suggest that coagulopathy was mostly secondary to endothelial damage. In addition, the significantly higher IL-6 values (p<0.002) indicate the development of vasculitis along with the acute inflammatory process. S-RSH can be more commonly explained the high severity of vasculitis and endothelial damage due to viral infection.

Is Youtube a potential training source for total extraperitoneal laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair?

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to evaluate the quality of the most commonly viewed total extraperitoneal laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair (TEP) videos on Youtube, which is the largest social and medical media broadcasting service, concerning educational purposes. METHOD: A search with the keyword "total extraperitoneal laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair" was performed on Youtube. The first 120 videos among the search results were downloaded and 55 of them were included in the study. A scoring system developed by the authors according to the recent literature was utilized for evaluation of the videos. Video demographics were evaluated for the quality and upload source. RESULTS: Among the enrolled videos, video quality was rated as good in 13 (23.6%), as moderate in 22 (40%), and as poor in 20 (36.4%). Video length, presence of narration, number of likes, and comments were significantly higher in the good group. Upload source was an academic center in 14 (25.5%), a community hospital in 22 (40.0%), and a physician in 19 (34.5%). The mean video score of the academic center group (8 ± 4.095) and community hospital group (8.64 ± 3.259) was significantly higher than the physician group (5.47 ± 2.632) (p = 0.010). Video quality was not correlated with total views or views per day. CONCLUSION: Total extraperitoneal laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair procedure videos uploaded to Youtube demonstrate considerable heterogeneity in terms of educational quality and the number of good quality videos is significantly low. This heterogeneity is attributed to the lack of peer review process for the evaluation of educational quality of the videos. Therefore, a physician intending to learn and practice a surgical procedure properly (TEP repair in this situation) should not consider a broadcasting service without a peer review process as a reliable training source.

Do Nano-crystalline Silver-Coated Hernia Grafts Reduce Infection?

PURPOSE: Inguinal hernia repairs are the most common interventions in adults in general surgery clinics. Depending on the type of mesh and repair, the incidence of mesh-related infection ranges from 0.6 to 8%. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is the most common microorganism causing graft infection. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of nano-crystalline silver-coated polypropylene grafts against graft infection created with MRSA in rats. METHODS: A total of 60 female, Wistar albino rats were used in the study. Polypropylene grafts 1 × 1 cm in size were coated in silver ion-doped, calcium phosphate-based, antibacterial ceramic powder (NS-coated graft) to provide an antimicrobial effect. The MRSA seeding procedure was applied at the same time as surgery. In Group 1, normal graft was applied without MRSA seeding, in Group 2, normal graft with MRSA seeding, in Group 3, NS-coated graft without MRSA seeding, and in Group 4, NS-coated graft with MRSA seeding. For the groups which were to be infected, the bacteria were seeded in the surgical area during the operation. On the 7th day postoperatively, all the animals were killed. The grafts were removed and one from each group was examined under electron microscope and the others were implanted in culture medium and the number of colonies was counted after 24 h. RESULTS: In Groups 1 and 3, the incision site was seen to have healed on day 3, no clinical surgical area infection was seen during follow-up, and in the exploration made on the 7th day, no findings of infection were observed. In Group 2, hyperemia and collection were seen to have formed on day 3, abscess had started to form in all the rats of this group on day 4, a purulent discharge in the wound site had started in 12 animals on day 5, separation of the wound site was observed in 6 on day 6, and in the exploration on day 7, there was seen to be a fibrin and pus-rich collection around the graft in all cases. In Group 4, there were hyperemia and collection in 6 animals on day 4, and in 3 of these, abscess was seen to have formed on the 5th day. No purulent discharge or wound separation was observed. In the exploration on the 7th day, it was seen that in the animals with abscess development, the formation was of a localized abscess. The results of the cultures of the grafts removed from Groups 1 and 3 showed no production, whereas production was seen in all the grafts removed from Groups 2 and 4. Clinical surgical area infection was seen to have developed in 100% of Group 2 and in 40% of Group 4. In the comparison of the number of colonies, a statistically significantly lower number of bacteria were determined in Group 4 compared to Group 2 (p < 0.05). In the SEM images taken of Group 2, bacteria clusters were seen attached to the graft. CONCLUSION: Consistent with previous findings in the literature, the NS-coated polypropylene graft was seen to have a significantly better bactericidal effect than the normal polypropylene graft. Development of NS-coated grafts seems to be a reliable and applicable method to reduce the incidence of postoperative graft infection.