Muscle Hernia Repair at Fascia Lata Autograft Donor Site

The fascia lata autograft is a versatile material utilized in a wide variety of soft tissue reconstructive procedures. Our case highlights an instance in which harvesting fascia lata resulted in a symptomatic vastus lateralis muscle herniation at the donor site that required 2 surgical revisions.

In this case, a patient developed a thigh muscle hernia at a fascia lata graft donor site. The hernia required a secondary surgical reconstruction utilizing a mesh underlay for the fascial defect repair.

There has been no recurrence of the hernia 1 year after reconstruction, and the patient is able to ambulate normally and with minimal pain.

Use of a fascia lata autograft can result in debilitating donor-site morbidity in certain patients. Prompt reconstruction of residual fascial defects at the time of graft harvest is ideal. However, in this patient, reconstruction with a prosthetic mesh reinforcement several years after symptomatic herniation led to significant improvement in quality of life. Cases of lateral thigh pain with associated bulge also benefit from early magnetic resonance imaging or ultrasound imaging to diagnose fascia defects or distinguish other etiologies.