Quality of life after hiatal hernia repair with biosynthetic mesh Phasix^TM

Hiatal hernias are one of the most common types of hernia, which are found in 55–60% patients over 50 years, but only 9% are symptomatic. In most cases hiatal hernia manifests with the signs of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and is managed with lifestyle changes and proton pump inhibitors. In some cases, surgical therapy is indicated. Usually, surgical repair includes cruroplasty and fundoplication; however, the recurrence rate is up to 42%. Mesh reinforcement helps to decrease recurrence rate, but may lead to a development of visceral adhesions, erosions, mesh migration or infection. To avoid these complications, a new completely resorbable mesh Phasix^TM is offered in the market. The aim of the study was to evaluate the quality of life (QoL), complications, and patient satisfaction after large hiatal hernia repair with Phasix^TM mesh at 1-year follow-up. All the patients were satisfied with the surgery. The median GERD Health Related QoL index was 6.5 points, which is significantly less than before surgery — 29.5 points (p = 0.04). There were no mesh related complications and no clinical data of recurrence. Hiatal hernia repair with slowly resorbable biosynthetic mesh Phasix^TM has acceptable results in terms of GERD Health Related QoL, complications and patient satisfaction at one-year follow-up.