OBJECTIVETo observe the safety and efficacy of biological patch (Biodesign Surgisis mesh, SIS) in hybrid technique for incisional herniorrhaphy.

METHODSClinical and follow-up data of 14 incisional hernia patients who underwent incisional herniorrhaphy with hybrid technique, using porcine small intestinal submucosa acellular matrix patch, at the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from January 1, 2012 to June 31, 2016 were analyzed retrospectively. This Biodesign Surgisis patch for incisional hernia is produced by the Cook company in the United States. The size of patch ranged from 9 cm × 15 cm to 20 cm × 25 cm. During operation, according to abdominal wall defect, the patch was cut to ensure the distance from its edge to the border of abdominal wall defect more than 5 cm.

RESULTSThere were four male and tenfemale patients with average age of (67.7±11.6) years and average body mass index(BMI) of (25.5±1.7) kg/m². As for operative history of these 14 cases, 7 cases had gastrointestinal tumor surgery, 2 had appendectomy, 1 had upper abdominal white line hernia repair, 1 had hysterectomy, 1 had cholecystectomy, 1 had splenectomy plus portal vein dissection, and 1 had right kidney and right ureter total resection plus partial excision of bladder wall. Ten casesdeveloped incisional infection after previous surgery. The duration of incisional hernia ranged 1 to 180 months (median, 8 months). Two cases were refractory hernia, 1 was incarcerated hernia, and 11 were reversible hernia. The locations of incisional hernia included 4 cases of right ventral wall, 1 case of left ventral wall, 2 cases of supra-umbilical incision, 4 cases of infra-umbilical midline incision, and 3 cases of peri-umbilical midline incision. There were 3 cases of middle incisional hernia, 5 cases of large incisional hernia and 6 cases of huge incisional hernia. All the patients completed operations eventlessly. The average operative time was (202.5±72.9) minutes. The average length and width of hernia ring were (10.9±4.3) cm and (9.3±3.9) cm, respectively. Clean operation was performed in 11 cases, potential contaminative operation in 2 cases and contaminative operation in 1 case. The amount of operative bleeding was (15.0±4.8) ml. The NRS pain scores within 24 hours after the operation, at POD3 and at POD7 were 5.1±0.9, 4.2±0.7 and 3.7±0.9, respectively. The time to flatus after operation was (2.5±0.9) days and the time to liquid diet was (3.8±1.2) days. No patient died during the perioperative period. The average hospitalization time was (21.5±12.0) days. Postoperative complications occurred in 8 cases, including 4 cases of fever, 8 cases of incision complications, 4 cases of abdominal infection, 4 cases of intestinal obstruction, 5 cases of effusion under patch, 2 cases of pneumonia, and 1 case of acute myocardial infarction. According to the Clavien-Dindo classification, 3 cases were grade zero, 3 cases were grade I(, 6 cases were grade II(, 1 case was grade III(, and 1 case was grade IIII(. Thirteen patients received follow-up and the average follow-up time was (33.2±12.3) (18.2-61.0) months. One patient died of cerebral infarction 38 months after operation. The chronic abdominal pain or discomfort was found in 4 cases. The recurrent incisional hernia developed in 5 cases and the average time of recurrence was (11.0±8.3) months.

CONCLUSIONSBiological patch can be used safely and effectively in hybrid technique for incisional herniorrhaphy. However, the morbidity of postoperative complication and the risk of recurrence are high. Terefore, the long-term outcome is still subject to observation.