Application of biological mesh in treatment of inguinal hernia in adolescents

The causes of inguinal hernia in adolescents (generally believed to be 13 to 18 years old) are mostly congenital patent processus vaginalis, as well as transverse fascia defect and large hernial sac. Traditional high ligation of the hernia sac is prone to postoperative recurrence. Considering that adolescents are at the stage of development, synthetic materials do not enlarge with the children's growth, and complications, such as local contracture, foreign body sensation, chronic pain, even adhesions of the spermatic cord and infertility in adolescents can occur. Therefore, they are not recommended for use in adolescents. While biological mesh can stimulate regeneration of new tissues to repair defects, at the same time, it will gradually degrade with low incidence of postoperative local discomfort and chronic pain. The aforementioned features of biological mesh make it very suitable for the repair of inguinal hernias in adolescents. But there is no conclusion about its recurrence at present. Thus, we expect a large sample, multi-center clinical study to further demonstrate the long-term efficacy of biological meshes. Key words: Adolescent; Inguinal hernia; Biological mesh