Purpose: Ventral hernias are common surgical targets. The Bard(®) Ventralex™ Hernia Patch was introduced for the repair of such hernias in the early 2000s. Ethicon (Johnson & Johnson) introduced the Proceed™ Ventral Patch (PVP™) in the late 2000s for the same indication. The effectiveness and safety of the Bard(®) Ventralex™ Hernia Patch has been proven in a series of studies. There are no medical studies on the PVP™ in humans. This study examines the effectiveness and safety of PVP™ in the closure of ventral hernias.
Method: A single center retrospective analysis of patients' data was conducted. Fifty-seven patients with small and medium size ventral hernias were treated with patches in the period between May 2009 and December 2010. The charts of these patients were reviewed. Demographic data, diagnosis at surgery, duration of surgery, length of hospital stay, postoperative complications and recurrence were recorded.
Results: Fifty-seven patients were analyzed including 21 females and 36 males with a mean age of 56.7 years. The diagnosis at surgery included 36 cases of umbilical hernia, eight cases of epigastric hernia, seven incision hernias and six recurrent umbilical hernias. The mean duration of surgery was 30.7 min, and the mean length of hospital stay was 3.3 days. Four postoperative complications (7.1 %) and one case of hernia recurrence (1.7 %) were recorded.
Conclusion: Ventral hernia closure with PVP™ is safe and effective. The rates of complication and recurrence are comparable to those of the Bard(®) Ventralex™ Hernia Patch.