Double mesh technique (mesh plug and onlay) in repair of lumbar incisional hernia: a novel technique

Background Patients having lumbar incisional hernia are presented with a mass in the suprailiac region posteriorly at the site of the previous operation and might be associated with occurrence of pain. Repairing such types of hernias is difficult, and it has high rates of recurrence after operation. There is a plethora of surgical techniques that have been described in performing the lumbar incisional hernia open repair, and it is difficult to detect the best technique of management, and no surgical procedure has been proved to be better than the others. The aim of this study was to provide a novel, efficient, simple and safe technique in the repair of lumbar incisional hernia and then to evaluate the short-term outcome of applying such technique to solve the recurrence problem. Patients and methods In our study, we have included 20 cases having lumbar incisional hernia and were divided into two groups: group 1 contained 10 cases that were managed by doublemesh technique and group 2 contained 10 cases that were managed by single mesh. Results We found that putting two meshes is better than a single mesh in the management of lumbar incisional hernia regarding decreasing incidence of postoperative complications (P=0.028) and decreasing incidence of postoperative recurrence (P=0.020). Conclusion Our double-mesh technique in the management of lumbar incisional hernia is a novel technique, with no intra-abdominal injuries or collections and provides better results without recurrence.