REPAIR OF INCISIONAL HERNIAS WITH EXPANDED POLYTETRAFLUOROETHYLENE

Objective: To find out the rates of recurrence after repair of incisio nal hernias with or without the implantation of a PTFE-patch. Design: Open and retrospective study. Setting: University hospital, Austria. S ubjects: 26 patients who had their incisional hernias repaired with a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) patch and 70 for whom conventional meth ods were used. Main outcome measures: Absolute recurrence rate and the Kaplan-Meier estimate 24 months after the operation. Presence of risk factors. Results: Three patients developed recurrences by 24 months i n the PTFE group and 41 in the conventional group. The Kaplan-Meier es timate for the PTFE group was 13% and for the conservative group 63%. Women had significantly fewer recurrences than men (p < 0.05). Age, bo dy mass index, and diameter of the defect were not significantly assoc iated with an increased risk of failure. Conclusions: Insertion of a p rosthesis can improve the results of surgical repair of incisional her nias.