[Treatment of postoperative abdominal eventrations with a resorbable prosthesis. Apropos of 160 cases]

We reviewed retrospectively a series of eventrations treated with a nonresorbable prosthesis. Most of the eventrations occurred after medial laparotomies (83.7%), predominantly with sub-umbilical incision (42.5%) and often after gynecological or biliary surgery (31.9 and 27.5% respectively). Predisposing factors were obesity (38.1%) and post-operative infection of the suture (21%). Delay to eventration was 5.5 years (range 1 to 30 years). In 17% of the cases recurrent eventration was seen after one or more cures (maximum of 5). The prosthesis was always positioned behind the muscle, either ventrally to the posterior sheath of the rectus abdominis or directly in a properitoneal position. Resorbable U sutures (41.2%) or stapling were used. There was one post-operative death due to massive pulmonary embolism on day 10. Morbidity was 8.1% (4 respiratory complications, 4 pulmonary embolisms, 1 intestinal occlusion due to loop agglutination, 9 hematomas including 6 requiring reoperation). There were also 11 cases of infection of the suture with 3 involving the prosthesis. Long-term follow-up of 149 patients (93.1%) revealed on death related to former repair.