Migration after open mesh plug inguinal hernioplasty: a review of the literature.

Migration has been highlighted as a serious complication of open inguinal hernia repair with the "plug-and-patch" technique. We used an English language Medline search from 1995 to 2006. Review of the literature found that three cases showed poor surgical technique, one case did not show true migration, another was a case of the wrong operation being done, and in the final case, the patient was in overall very poor health. Mesh plug migration after open inguinal hernia repair can be avoided if proper attention to detail is used at the time of initial repair.