The genius of using pigskin for hernia repair... so why does the NHS often refuse to pay for this remarkable treatment?

Hernia repair is one of the most commonly performed operations in the world. Cricketer Kevin Pietersen went into hospital for one last March, and Madonna has had three. The Prince of Wales and footballer Frank Lampard are other well-known names to have had it done – along with about 180,000 other Britons each year.

Standard inguinal hernias – small lumps in the groin pushing through a hole in the abdomen wall – may develop in a quarter of all men and one in eight women. They are easily repaired by patching the hole with a piece of synthetic mesh. But the latest research shows that very large hernias can be most effectively repaired using biological mesh made from pig tissue – dubbed ‘pigskin’ by some doctors. 

Consultant general and colorectal surgeon Pasquale Giordano, who specialises in treating complex hernias at Whipps Cross University Hospital in East London, has been pioneering repairs using mesh made from pig tissue for nine years.        More