In 48 patients who were suffering from recurrent or large abdominal in
cisional hernias the defect in the abdominal wall was closed by the im
plantation of a patch of polytetrafluoroethylene. Patients were examin
ed 22 months postoperatively on the average. In 5 cases recurrence had
occurred (10.4 %). The estimated rate of recurrence two years postope
ratively amounted to 14 %. As this is significantly lower than after c
onventional techniques without alloplastic materials, the closure of i
ncisional hernias by PTFE is an important alternative for the manageme
nt of difficult abdominal incisional hernias.