[The surgery of laparoceles. The postoperative complications]

The use of prosthetic meshes in incisional hernias repairs is now very attractive, particularly for wide fascial defects; nevertheless the presence of a foreign body and placement technique may be responsible for complications sometimes leading to failure. To evaluate technical problems and complications in incisional hernia surgery the authors reviewed their 5 year experience in 70 patients; 39 mesh repairs and 31 direct sutures of the abdominal wall were performed. Local complications (fistulas, wound hematoma or infections) were more frequent in the former group; PTFE meshes showed a lower resistance to infections, particularly in diabetics, and in three patients partial or total removal was mandatory. Prosthetic meshes showed a marked reduction of recurrences in incisional hernia surgery, but their use leads to more local complications than direct repair; the authors believe that mesh placement must be evaluated for every single patient and not used as a routine procedure.