Surgical treatment of post-operative incisional hernias by intra-peritoneal insertion of a Dacron mesh

The authors report a series of 220 cases of post-operative incisional hernias, treated between 1982 and 1996, by the insertion of a Dacron mesh within the intra-peritoneal cavity. Post-operative mortality was recorded to be 1%. Five patients (2.27%) developed a deep seated infection which necessitated removal of the mesh. Eight patients presented with a recurrence (3.6%). This retrospective study tends to show that giant abdominal wall hernias can be efficiently treated by the intraperitoneal positioning of a Dacron mesh.