Tag Archives: Incisional Hernia

Mesh Suture and Mesh Strips to Prevent Incisional Hernia Following Abdominal Wall Closure or Ventral Hernia Repair

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“Incisional hernias are an increasingly common complication encountered by surgeons and their patients, as survival rates from major abdominal surgery continue to improve. The
incidence of incisional hernia after midline laparotomy is estimated to be 9%–20% after 1 year, resulting in approximately 8000 UK repairs annually. While patient factors such as obesity, smoking and diabetes certainly contribute, excessive suture tension during the critical wound healing period causes local ischaemia at the suture-tissue interface and may initiate incisional hernia. Subsequent suture “cheese-wiring” through fascia creates small linear defects that enlarge over time with repeated abdominal wall straining. The clinical
and economic implications of incisional hernia have precipitated preventative research, including Jenkins rule, small-bite closure, and prophylactic mesh implantation which are
discussed in recent high-profile international guidelines. However, many surgeons continue to adopt suture closure over prophylactic planar mesh since this prolongs surgery and risks
infection in a contaminated field.”

Nip, Lawrence et al. “Mesh Suture and Mesh Strips to Prevent Incisional Hernia Following Abdominal Wall Closure or Ventral Hernia Repair: Systematic Review.” Journal of abdominal wall surgery : JAWS vol. 4 14573. 14 May. 2025 Free Full Text

Sugarbaker vs Keyhole repair in parastomal hernias

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One discussion this week involved the Sugarbaker repair vs Keyhole repair.

Reference: DeAsis FJ et al. Current state of laparoscopic parastomal hernia repair: a meta-analysis. World Journal of Gastroenterology. 2015 Jul 28;21(28):8670-8677. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i28.8670

Summary:  The primary differences between keyhole repair and Sugarbaker repair are the orientation of the bowel and the presence of a slit in the mesh. In the modified Sugarbaker approach, the bowel is exteriorized through the side of the mesh, whereas in the Keyhole approach the bowel is inserted through a 2 to 3 cm slit in the center of mesh. Both methods apply the mesh intraperitoneally (DeAsis et al, 2015, p.8673).

DeAsis et al (2015) performed a systematic review of PubMed and Medline. The primary outcome analyzed was recurrence of parastomal hernia. Secondary outcomes were mesh infection, surgical site infection, obstruction requiring reoperation, death, and other complications.

In an analysis of 15 articles involving 469 patients, the recurrence rate was 10.2% (95%CI: 3.9-19.0) for the modified laparoscopic Sugarbaker approach, and 27.9% (95%CI: 12.3-46.9) for the keyhole approach. There were no intraoperative mortalities reported and six mortalities during the postoperative course.

The review concluded that the non-slit mesh modified Sugarbaker approach and the slit mesh Keyhole approach are currently the most reported options for laparoscopic repair. When choosing between the two, a modified Sugarbaker technique appears to be a superior method given the low recurrence rates compared to the keyhole technique if an ePTFE mesh is used (p.8676).