Soft polypropylene mesh, but not cadaveric dermis, significantly improves outcomes in midline hernia repairs using the components separation technique

Background: The search continues for the "ideal" repair of the midline ventral hernia, and the components separation technique has a low, but still concerning, hernia recurrence rate. The authors hypothesize that adding prosthetic or bioprosthetic meshes to the midline closure during components separation would reduce recurrence rates with minimal added morbidity. Methods: Over a 3-year period, patients had a components separation procedure where either acellular cadaveric dermis (n = 26) or soft polypropylene mesh (n = 28) was used as an intraperitoneal underlay for reinforcement of the midline repair, but not as a "bridging material." In 36 operations, the mesh or cadaveric dermis was placed at the time of the components separation, and in the remaining cases (n = 18), the underlay was used to treat a recurrence after components separation. Results: Cadaveric dermis was associated with a 46 percent "true" recurrence rate that required reoperation (mean follow-up, 17.3 months), whereas soft polypropylene mesh had a significantly lower recurrence rate of 11 percent (p = 0.0057) during a follow-up period of 16 months. Because of a higher incidence of concomitant bowel surgery and contamination in the cadaveric dermis group, additional subset analysis of uncontaminated cases was performed, demonstrating a 61 percent recurrence rate for cadaveric dermis compared with 12 percent for soft polypropylene (p = 0.0017). No significant differences in major and minor complications were seen between groups. Conclusion: Soft polypropylene mesh, but not acellular dermis, demonstrates acceptably low complication and hernia recurrence rates when used as a reinforcement of the midline ventral hernia closure in conjunction with components separation.