Incisional hernia: a review.
Otherwise known as post operative ventral hernia, incisional hernia is a common complication following abdominal surgery and is a significant cause of morbidity. This review examines incisional hernia from its historical perspective to the present. A Literature review of the topic was carried out using manual library search of journal articles on the topic published both locally and internationally. The search also made use of intemet material from Pubmed and Medline on relevant parts of the topic. All relevant articles from the reference lists of these papers were also studied. Incisional hernia is a common complication of abdominal surgery. Its incidence is about 1% following primary healing and increasing to about 11% with postoperative wound infection. The most consistent causative factor is wound infection and the incidence may rise to 30% after abdominal wound dehiscenece and resuture. It may be difficult to repair and a wide range of surgical procedures have been developed for such repair. The repair may be direct suture or prosthetic mesh using the open or laparoscopic technique. Prosthetic mesh has revolutionized the repair of incisional hernias. Laparoscopic repair, which was introduced in the 1990's, has been adjudged feasible, safe and as effective as the open methods of repair. Recurrence rates of up to 49% with direct suture repair have been reported. Open and laparoscopic mesh repair have recurrent rates of 0-10% and 0-9% respectively. Despite improved surgical techniques and the use of prosthetic mesh incisional herniation remains a major problem for the general surgeon.