Mesh Antibioma: A New Entity in the Presentation of Late-Onset Mesh Infection

Antibioma is a tough-walled abscess, which usually forms as a sequela of inadequate or lack of pus drainage during infection and inappropriate use of antibiotics by the patient. In this case report, we present a case of the development of antibioma due to infected polypropylene mesh used in umbilical hernia repair 10 years ago in a 59-year-old obese male. He had a history of umbilical and right inguinal hernioplasty 10 years back. Intraoperatively, we found antibioma whose wall was made up of fibrous mesh and the center was filled with pus and nonfibrous mesh remnants. The pus was found to be sterile, and the wall was made up of fibromuscular adipose tissue with chronic inflammatory cells around it. This is a very rare presentation of umbilical site deep mesh infection as it had no signs of acute inflammation, neither pain nor any pus discharge. We conclude that the possible explanation for the formation of antibioma and its very delayed presentation could be due to mesh infolding and seroma/hematoma formation during previous surgery may have led to the formation of abscess and thick fibrous wall without any fistulous tract and other complications of deep mesh infection.