Repair of Giant Abdominal Hernias: Does the Type of Prosthesis Matter?

Abstract

Closure of the abdominal wall after trauma or major surgery may be difficult due to visceral edema or fascial weakness; thus, the risk of developing a ventral hernia (VH) is high. Commonly, these hernias are repaired using a prosthetic mesh. Complications following mesh repair can develop. We hypothesize that the type of prosthetic material affects outcome. This is a retrospective chart review of patients admitted from 1996 to 2002 undergoing VH (≥20 x 10 cm) repair with prosthetic mesh. Data collected included age, sex, and race. Patients were stratified by prosthetic material as follows: Gore-Tex (GR), Marlex + Gore-Tex (MG), Marlex (MR), and Marlex + Vicryl (MV). For the purpose of clinical analysis, the groups were collapsed into subgroups: Gore-Tex exposure (GT) or non–Gore-Tex exposure (NG). Outcome measures were hernia recurrence (HR), wound infection (WI), and fistula formation (FF). Statistical analysis utilized χ² test and Fisher's exact test. There were 55 VH repairs in 37 patients. The mean age was 43.9 (±16.3), males outnumbered females 22 (59.5%) to 15 (40.5%). The majority of the patients were Caucasian (29; 78.4%). There were 30 trauma patients (81.1%), and 7 general surgery patients (18.9%). The HR for the study (n = 55) was 20 (36.4%), the WI was 17 (30.9%), and the FF was 3 (5.5%). GR group (6; 66.7%) had a significant higher wound IF rate than MR group (8; 26.7%) (Chi P = 0.02, Fisher P = 0.047). All other group comparisons (HR, WI, and FF) were N.S. The Gore-Tex versus non–Gore-Tex subgroup comparison results were as follows: GT (n = 18) had a WI 8 (44.4%), HR 6 (33.3%), and FF 0 (0%). NG (n = 37) had a WI 9 (24.3%), HR 14 (37.8%), and a FF 3 (8.1%). There was a trend toward a higher wound infection in the GT versus NG, but it did not reach statistical significance. We conclude that 1) the wound infection rate was higher in the Gore-Tex versus the Marlex group (Chi P = 0.02, Fisher P = 0.047). Wound infection in the presence of Gore-Tex usually mandates the removal of the mesh resulting in a hernia recurrence. 2) There was a trend toward a higher wound infection in the GT (44.4%) versus NG (24.3%), but it did not reach statistical significance.