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CompletedNCT04231071SUMMERUpdated Feb 6, 2024

Mesh Versus Suture Repair in Umbilical Hernias - A Multicenter Trial

An interventional study of Onlay Mesh group in Umbilical Hernia, sponsored by Karolinska Institutet. Completed at 7 sites in Sweden. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2024-02-06.

Sponsored by Karolinska Institutet · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
288
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Umbilical hernia repair is one of the most common surgical performance in general surgery. Up to now, the use of suture repair has been the preferred technique for small umbilical hernia defects without any gold standard procedure. Mesh have been reserved to larger umbilical hernia defects. However, there is an increasing evidence that mesh reinforcement could be advantageous to lower the high recurrence rates also in smaller umbilical hernias. A remained important question is in what anatomical position the mesh should be placed. The investigators hypothesize that the use of an onlay mesh in small umbilical hernia defects can reduces recurrence rates without increasing postoperative complications compared to a suture repair.

Read the detailed description

The trial is a prospective multicenter randomized clinical trial comparing onlay mesh to suture repair. Two hundred and eighty-eight patients with a primary elective umbilical hernia below and equal to 2 cm from seven Swedish participating surgical centers will be enrolled. Randomization will be performed intraoperatively following the measurement of the defect (with stratification for centra and for the defect size) to either closing the small umbilical defect with a simple primary suture repair or closing the defect with a simple primary suture repair with an attached small flat lightweight polypropylene only mesh on the aponeurosis. Trial participants, investigators and follow-up clinical surgeons will be blinded for the assigned allocation. The primary endpoint will be recurrence at 1 and 3 years. Secondary endpoint will be surgical site postoperative complications at 30 days and pain 1 year after surgery. As follows, participants will be visiting the outpatient clinical at 30 d, 1 year and 3 year after surgery.

All analyses will be performed according to the intention to treat principle and as specified in the analyses plan of the study protocol.

There is no randomized clinical trial today comparing recurrence rates between an onlay mesh repair and a suture repair for small umbilical hernia defects. The trial design allows a good detection of differences in recurrence with the large sample size and the adequate follow-up. Surgeons are becoming more aware of the mesh's advantage even for the small defects, but are reluctant to use a mesh due to anatomical positions with a large dissection and an increased risk of complications. A small onlay mesh could be an easy and safe method of choice for small umbilical hernia defects to avoid increased recurrence rates. Guidelines for small umbilical hernia repairs have stressed out the need for reliable data for treatment recommendations. The investigators can expect that the trial will have a direct implication on small umbilical hernia repair standards.

The clinical study protocol has underwent full external peer review as part of the funding process with Research funding from SLL (Stockholms läns landsting) Karolinska Institutet. Approval of the protocol by the Swedish Ethical Review Authority was obtained at December 2018 and January 2020.

02

Conditions studied

  • Umbilical Hernia

Keywords

  • Small umbilical hernias
  • mesh repair
  • suture repair
  • recurrence
03

In context

Hernia, Umbilical

67 studies on the registry are indexed under Hernia, Umbilical; 13 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 288 is above the median of 66 across 40 interventional studies indexed under Hernia, Umbilical.

Browse Hernia, Umbilical studies →

Lead sponsor

Karolinska Institutet is the lead sponsor of 1,148 studies on the registry; 276 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Elective surgery of a primary umbilical hernia with a defect ≤ 2 cm that is measured clinically or with radiology.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Incisional hernia: previous surgery in the area of the operation
  • Recurrent umbilical hernia
  • Epigastric hernia (a defect from 3 cm below the xiphoid till 3 cm above the umbilicus) [20]
  • Another operative procedure at the same time (i.e. cholecystectomy)
  • An umbilical hernia with a defect > 2 cm measured clinically, with radiology or intra-operatively
  • Multiple defects
  • Pregnancy
  • Infected wounds
  • Acute operation (incarcerated hernia)
  • >35
  • Ascites
  • Anticoagulant treatment (Warfarin, NOAK)
  • Connective tissue disease
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(2)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

BMI (body mass index)

Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.

What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.

Immunosuppression

A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.

Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Triple (Participant, Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
288 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    Sutured group

    Controlled group: Primary suture repair of the small umbilical hernia defect

    Device: Onlay Mesh group

  • Experimental
    Onlay Mesh group

    Intervention group: Primary suture repair of the small umbilical hernia defects + a small Onlay mesh on the closed defect.

    Device: Onlay Mesh group

Interventions

  • DeviceOnlay Mesh group

    Primary suture repair with a small only mesh on the closed defect

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Hernia recurrence rate

    To evaluate whether an onlay mesh in the repair of primary small umbilical hernias ≤ 2 cm reduces recurrence rate compared to suture repair 3 year after surgery

    Time frame: 3 year

  2. Hernia recurrence rate

    To evaluate whether an onlay mesh in the repair of primary small umbilical hernias ≤ 2 cm reduces recurrence rate compared to suture repair 1 year after surgery.

    Time frame: 1 year

Secondary outcomes

  1. Difference in Surgical postoperative complication rate

    To compare the two groups of patients with regard to surgical postoperative complications (seroma, hematoma, infection) 30 days after surgery.

    Time frame: 30 days

  2. Difference in Pain rate after surgery assessed by VHPQ

    To compare the two groups of patients with regard to postoperative pain rate 1 year after surgery assessed by VHPQ (Ventral Hernia Pain Questionnaire)

    Time frame: 1 year

07

Study locations

7 sites
  • Enköping Lasarett
    Enköping, Sweden
  • Frölunda Hospital
    Gothenburg, Sweden
  • Mora Lasarett
    Mora, Sweden
  • Danderyds Hospital
    Stockholm, Sweden
  • Norrtälje Hospital
    Stockholm, Sweden
  • Sophiahemmet/GHP
    Stockholm, Sweden
  • Department of Surgery at Södertälje Hospital
    Södertälje, 151 39, Sweden
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Melkemichel M, Bringman S, Granasen G, Widhe B. SUMMER Trial: mesh versus suture repair in small umbilical hernias in adults-a study protocol for a prospective randomized double-blind multicenter clinical trial. Trials. 2021 Jun 22;22(1):411. doi: 10.1186/s13063-021-05366-7. PubMed 34158088 ↗

Study documents

PDFs hosted by the registry, ClinicalTrials.gov.

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Ran from Feb 2020 to primary completion in Jan 2024, 47 months.

Of 19 interventional studies with no phase under Hernia, Umbilical, half reached primary completion within 23 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 9 and three quarters within 47. This study's 47 months is above that.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Jan 10, 2020
First posted
Jan 18, 2020
StartActual
Feb 3, 2020
Primary completionActual
Jan 3, 2024
CompletionActual
Jan 3, 2024
Last update
Feb 6, 2024
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Feb 6, 2024, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04231071
Responsible party
Maria Melkemichel (Medical Doctor, Resident in General Surgery, Karolinska Institutet) — Principal investigator
First posted
Jan 18, 2020
Start date
Feb 3, 2020
Primary completion
Jan 3, 2024
Completion
Jan 3, 2024
Last update
Feb 6, 2024

Study contacts

Björn Widhe, MD, PhD
principal investigator · Department of Clinical Sciences, Danderyds Hospital, Karolinska Institutet
Sven Bringman, MD, PhD
principal investigator · Department of Clinical Sciences, Danderyds Hospital, Karolinska Institutet

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Oct 2023. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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