[Recurrent inguinal hernia after mesh hernioplasty. An emerging problem?]

In spite of the successful results of tension free hernioplasties, recurrent inguinal hernias are not an uncommon finding in the clinical practice.

The authors report their experience in 24 patients observed from January 1994 to December 2000 (23 men, 1 women, min. age 28 yrs, max 78 yrs, mean 58 yrs) who had recurrent inguinal hernia after a tension free hernioplasty. In 22 patients a tension free hernioplasty (Lichtenstein technique 5 patients, Trabucco 7 patients, unclassifiable 10 patients) through an anterior approach was performed while in two, respectively, a Stoppa procedure and a laparoscopic hernioplasty were the first operations; mean recurrence time was 17 months.

Mesh and/or plug dislocation was the most frequent cause of recurrence (15 patients), followed by a failure of the internal ring reconstruction (6 patients) and loss of the pubic stitch (2 patients); in 1 patient the mesh was of reabsorbable type.

Mesh hernioplasties represent a valuable progress in inguinal hernia therapy, but increasing clinical experience shows that, together with the experience of the surgeon in the surgical technique, suture of a wide mesh to the surrounding tissues and a adequate inguinal ring reconstruction are critical condition for good results.