Prospective Study of Incisional Hernia and the Outcome of Various Surgical Techniques

The use of non absorbable mesh may lead to seroma, fistula and infection in short term and to foreign-body reaction, chronic inflammation, pain, paraesthesia, stiffness and mesh shrinkage as long term complications (11-14) . Mesh properties (material, pore size, filament structure), mesh position (onlay, inlay, sublay, intraperitoneal), use of autodermal tissues and other factors (drainage, antibiotics) influence mesh safety. Long term safety and improved outcome of preperitoneal retro sublay technique of mesh placement has been shown in recent trials (15-22). However there is no randomized controlled study for comparison and validation of this useful technique with the other commonly done onlay technique. This prospective study is meant to report the observations made on 109 consecutive cases of incisional hernia admitted and treatment at Thanjavur Medical college Hospital over a period of two and a half years between May 2006 and October 2008 and the comparison of short and long term outcomes between different open surgical techniques in a simple and complex incisional hernia repair and discuss it in the light of available literature.