To evaluate the clinical outcomes of biological meshes in inguinal hernia repair.

Male patients with unilateral inguinal hernia who underwent Lichtenstein repair at the Second Hospital of Jilin University between January 2019 and January 2022 were retrospectively collected. Patients were assigned to a biological mesh group or a synthetic mesh group according to the mesh used. Hospitalization costs, operative time, anesthesia modality, postoperative length of stay, time to return to normal daily activities, and postoperative complications were compared between the two groups.

A total of 188 patients were included, with 86 in the biological mesh group and 102 in the synthetic mesh group. Significant between-group differences were observed in hospitalization costs and operative time (both P<0.05). No significant differences were found in anesthesia modality, postoperative length of stay, or time to return to normal daily activities (all P>0.05). The biological mesh group had significantly lower rates of foreign-body sensation, chronic postoperative pain, and overall postoperative complications (all P<0.05). However, there were no significant differences in postoperative fever, surgical site infection, mesh infection, seroma, postoperative urinary retention, hernia recurrence, or early postoperative pain (all P>0.05).

In Lichtenstein inguinal hernia repair, compared with synthetic mesh, biological mesh is associated with higher hospitalization costs and longer operative time, but it significantly reduces postoperative foreign-body sensation and chronic pain and decreases the overall incidence of postoperative complications.