§ Mr. AustinTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the tension-free reinforcement mesh technique for treatment of hernias relative to conventional surgery; what assessment he has made of possible savings to the NHS of wider adoption of this method of treatment; and if he will make a statement. [52498]
177W
§ Mr. BoatengThe Royal College of Surgeons issued clinical guidelines on the management of groin hernias in 1993. These endorsed the Shouldice technique but recognised that early results from tension-free repairs using prosthetic mesh rivalled the Shouldice repair. The Department has provided funding to the Surgical Epidemiology and Audit Unit at the Royal College of Surgeons to carry out a national audit of the outcome of groin hernia. This will enable current surgical practice to be compared with the 1993 guidelines. The use of prosthetic mesh in hernia repairs has also been advanced by the development of laparoscopic herniorrhaphy which has been the subject of a large randomised controlled trial conducted by the Medical Research Council. Results from that trial are expected early next year. We will, in the light of this work, consider with the Royal College of Surgeons whether further guidance is needed.