TANTALUM GAUZE IN THE REPAIR OF LARGE POSTOPERATIVE VENTRAL HERNIAS

Abstract

THE RESULTS of the conventional methods of repair of large postoperative ventral hernias have been disappointing. These hernias are usually the result of concealed or manifest wound disruption and are characterized by loss of tissue substance, in particular by loss of fascial tissue, of the abdominal wall. This tissue deficiency together with the developmental scantiness of the musculofascial structures of the obese abdominal wall in which these hernias so often occur creates a problem of repair which is seldom solved successfully with the common surgical methods. The problem in reality is to replace and reconstruct the missing portion of the abdominal wall. Many of the popular procedures of repair merely aim at closing the hiatus by whatever means will allow it to approximate its edges. Thus, often these repairs amount to no more than the suturing together under great tension of scarred and attenuated fascial margins. Where attempts are made