Incisional hernioplasty with extraperitoneal onlay polyester mesh

Recurrent incisional hernia remains a major problem for the general surgeon. The high recurrence rate of incisional hernias after primary closure by tissue approximation led to the development of tension-free procedures using prosthetic materials. The goal of this study is to present the results of an extraperitoneal tension-free technique using a polyester mesh (Mersilene). A total of 43 patients with incisional hernias were surgically treated during a 9-year period in our department. Twenty-four patients (56%) had recurrent incisional hernias, 21 had primary repair by tissue approximation, and 3 had prolene mesh tension-free repair with wound infection. Patients' mean age was 68.2 years, and the mean postoperative follow-up was 54.4 months. Immediate postoperative complications were noticed in 9 patients (21%) subcutaneous seroma in 6 (14%) and wound infection in 3 (7%). Recurrence was noticed in 4 patients (9%) during the first 9 postoperative months. Late minor complications such as restriction of abdominal wall motility and chronic pain was noticed in 3 (7%) patients. In conclusion, the extraperitoneal onlay tension-free incisional hernia repair using polyester mesh is an easy and safe procedure with no major morbidity or recurrence rate.