Short-Term Outcomes of Fibrin Glue Versus Absorbable Tackers for Mesh Fixation in Laparoscopic TAPP Inguinal Hernia Repair: A Randomised Clinical Trial

Introduction: Hernia is defined as the protrusion of all or part of a viscus through the wall that contains it. Laparoscopic and tension-free open repairs are the two procedures that are being performed globally in inguinal hernia surgery.

Aim: To compare the benefits of fibrin glue versus absorbable tackers in laparoscopic Transabdominal Preperitoneal (TAPP) inguinal hernia repair and to appraise their outcomes.

Materials and Methods: A randomised clinical trial was conducted at a tertiary hospital of SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India for 18 months, from March 2021 to August 2022. Total of 54 patients who had laparoscopic TAAP hernia repairs were divided into two groups each with 27 participants, group A mesh fixed using fibrin glue and group B mesh fixed using absorbable tackers. All the patients were followed-up for atleast three months postsurgery. Operating time, postoperative pain and complications data were collected. The Chi-square and Unpaired t-test determined the statistical significance of the data.

Results: Total of 54 patients aged 18 to 60 years were included in the study with no significant differences (p-value=0.696). The same was true for gender (11 males and 43 females), with no significant differences (p-value=0.735) in group A and group B between male and female patients. In current study, there was a statistically significant difference in pain levels between groups after 24 hours, hours (group B: 5.33±1.30 and group A: 6.56±0.51) however, after 48 hours (group B: 4.07±0.87 and group A: 4.63±0.49) and 72 hours (group B: 2.74±0.76 and group A: 2.63±0.49), there was no significant difference in the severity of the pain between the groups. At one week follow-up the level of pain score was significantly different. There was also a significant difference in haematoma between groups (p-value=0.038). In addition, there was a significant difference in return to normal activities in one week (p-value=0.033), two weeks (p-value=0.022), and four weeks between groups (p-value=0.019).

Conclusion: The use of fibrin sealant for mesh fixation in TAPP surgery has superior short-term outcomes when compared to tackers in terms of postoperative pain, return to normal activities and reduced incidence of haematomas.