Polypropelene mesh eroding transverse colon following laparoscopic ventral hernia repair
A 60-year-old man presented to us with a chronic foul smelling discharge with a typical history of passage of gas from a subumbilical discharging sinus for 6 months, with a history of repair of an incisional hernia following an open truncal vagotomy and gastro-jejunostomy. The incisional hernia was repaired with laparoscopic polypropylene mesh hernioplasty and 1 month after the surgery, he had developed the chronic discharging sinus. He was treated conservatively for more than 6 months without any result before presenting to our hospital. On fistulogram the dye entered the transverse colon. Therefore, he was planned for an exploratory laparotomy [Figures and ].\nThe abdomen was opened through a mid-line incision following a no. 10 infant feeding tube placed in the fistula tract. As expected, a part of the culprit polypropylene mesh was found to have eroded the mid-transverse colon, causing fistula.\nPrimary resection and end-to-end anastomosis of the transverse colon were done along with the removal of the polypropylene mesh and the fistulous tract. Abdomen was closed with non-absorbable sutures.\nPost-operative recovery was uneventful, and the patient was discharged on the eighth post-operative day, with follow-up at regular intervals.