Flank hernia and bulging after open nephrectomy: mesh repair by flank or median approach? Report of a novel technique.

Flank incisions may be associated with flank hernias, which may be complicated with incarceration and strangulation. Furthermore, they may cause a significant limitation of the patient's quality of life. In the period 1997-2006 we performed 15 flank hernia repairs with a prosthetic mesh implantation. From 1997 to 2001 hernias were managed with a standardized mesh implantation through the initial flank incision (seven cases, flank group). Since 2001 we have adopted a novel operative approach in eight patients. Through a median laparotomy and following a transabdominally reduction of the hernia sac, a prosthetic polypropylene mesh [Prolene, Vypro or UltraPro, Ethicon Endo-Surgery (Europe) GmbH, Norderstedt, Germany] overlapping the midline was placed in a sublay technique (median group). The perioperative complication rate was comparable and they consisted mostly of postoperative seromas. A patient from the flank group developed a hernia recurrence two months after surgery. Thirteen patients participated in the annual follow-up for a total follow-up time of five years. In this period we observed only one additional case of hernia recurrence: a patient of the flank group presented with a 3 cm hernia recurrence at the proximal end of the previous operative incision. No recurrence was observed in the median group. As a result the novel technique for open repair of flank incisional hernias we present permits a remodelling of the abdominal wall and is associated with excellent postoperative results.