• It's better for the patient. The product must be proven to
lower the complication rates and reduce infections. If it does,
we'd stock the product even if the cost was higher than the mesh
we currently use.
• It's less expensive. A mesh will be considered if the product
shows no difference in infection and recurrence rates, and is less
costly than the mesh with which it's being compared.
How you evaluate various mesh products comes down to
reviewing the literature, checking if the clinicians doing the
research have any financial interest in the outcomes and then
determining whether the findings support the need for a
change. This data-backed approach is also well-suited to stan-
dardizing your mesh inventory. If you do it the right way —
through careful analysis and with proper surgeon input — it
should not only be cost-efficient, it should virtually seamless,
as well.
OSM
M A Y 2 0 2 0 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 7 1
Dr. Reiner (mdreiner@aol.com) is a professor of surgery and obstetrics, gyne-
cology and reproductive sciences at Mount Sinai Medical Center and Icahn School
of Medicine in New York City. He is also the president of the Manhattan Council
of the American College of Surgeons.
