Parastomal hernia repair. An update

Repair of parastomal hernia remains controversial. Open suture repair of the fascial defect or stoma resiting are both associated with high morbidity and unacceptably high recurrence rates and are no longer recommended for routine use. Mesh repair appears to provide the best results. Following the first anectodal reports there are accumulating evidence that laparoscopic mesh repair is feasible and has a promising potential in the management of parastomal hernia. Two laparoscopic techniques have emerged, the use of a mesh with a slit and a central keyhole and a mesh without a slit, the latter often termed as a modified Sugarbaker. Published series, however, are observational and often with a short length of follow-up. Most series suffer from small sample size and controlled trials are lacking. The limited data, therefore, make it difficult to draw conclusions. At present none of the methods of open or laparoscopic mesh repair has proved superior. In spite of this laparoscopic repair has gained increasing acceptance. A polypropylene based mesh with an anti-adhesive layer covering the visceral side seems to be applicable using the keyhole technique with a slit as well as the modified Sugarbaker technique. A PTFE mesh should preferably be used with the modified Sugarbaker technique. If a PTFE mesh is used with the keyhole technique parastomal hernia is likely to recur.