Different surgeons will feel differently on this. If this was elective, the chole was probably removed for stones and was not actively infected (cholelithiasis not cholecystitis) and therefore should not be a big infection risk; irrigate and close. Some people would argue the bile is totally 'sterile' in this situation. Some surgeons are a lot more conservative when putting in mesh and only want a pristine field; I think most are in the first category with bile spillage and just irrigate well before placing the mesh.
Also, the actual amount of spillage is always debatable; you may have thought it was a lot but others may not. i.e. was it all over the belly or contained to the RUQ; consistency and color (does it look infected?) also make a difference. Now, if there was fecal spillage, that is a different matter. Most will either not place any mesh and plan repair in the future or place a biologic mesh depending on the clinical scenario.
This would have been a good question to ask the surgeon in the OR as it has some good teaching points and would have showed both some interest and some thought/preparedness on your part. (Sorry, other threads in other forums about the uselessness of scrubbing cases as a student have me on a bit of a soapbox. My point is, don't be afraid to ask good questions. Clearly you are thinking about why certain decisions are made. Even if you don't go into surgery, recognizing mesh and other implants as a possible infection source is important).
