Volume 196, Issue 1 , Pages 32-37, January 2003
“Components separation technique” for the repair of large abdominal wall hernias☆
Article Outline
Abstract
Background
The “components separation technique” is a method for abdominal wall reconstruction in patients with large midline hernias that cannot be closed primarily. The early and late results of this technique were evaluated in 43 patients.
Methods
Records of 43 patients, 11 women and 32 men, with a mean age of 49.7 (range 22 to 78), were reviewed for body length and weight, size and cause of the hernia, intra- and postoperative mortality and morbidity, with special attention given to wound and pulmonary complications. Patients were invited to attend the outpatient clinic afterward for at least 12 months for physical examination of the abdominal wall.
Results
The defect resulted after elective surgery in 19 patients and after acute surgery in 24 patients. In 11 patients, the defect was a result of open treatment of generalized peritonitis, and 13 patients had a recurrent incisional hernia. One patient died on the sixth postoperative day from mesenteric thrombosis. The postoperative course was complicated in 17 patients: fascial dehiscence in one, hematoma in five, seroma in two, wound infection in six, skin necrosis in one, and respiratory insufficiency in two. Thirty-eight patients were seen for followup. After a mean followup of 15.6 months (range 12 to 30 months), a recurrent hernia was found in 12 of the 38 patients (32%). The remaining four patients had no recurrent hernia after 1, 1, 3, and 4 months, respectively.
Conclusion
The “components separation technique” is useful for the reconstruction of large abdominal wall hernias, especially under contaminated conditions in which the use of prosthetic material is contraindicated. Further research is needed to reduce the relatively high reherniation rate.
Reconstruction of large, midline abdominal wall hernias is still a major problem in general surgery. Reherniation rates of up to 46% have been reported after primary closure, so reconstruction with prosthetic material is preferred.1, 2 Most of these defects cannot be closed primarily because the fascial edges are retracted far laterally into the flank from shortening of the external oblique muscle.3 To overcome this problem, biomaterials are widely used to bridge these defects.4 For this purpose, polypropylene mesh is still the most widely used material. Preperitoneal or submuscular implantation of the mesh following Stoppa5 and Rives6 has favorable results with reherniation rates of 15% to 24%.2
If meshes are used, the greater omentum or peritoneum must be interponated between the bowels and the mesh to prevent adhesions and erosion of the bowels. Also, infection and the need for full-thickness skin coverage are other major drawbacks of this method, especially if reconstructions are performed in the presence of contamination or infection.6
In 1990, Ramirez and colleagues3 developed a technique for reconstruction of abdominal wall defects without the use of prosthetic material. This technique is based on enlargement of the abdominal wall surface by translation of the muscular layers. After mobilization of the skin, the external oblique muscle is transected just laterally from its insertion into the rectal sheath and separated from the internal oblique muscle (Figure 1). Then the rectus abdominis sheath is advanced medially. In this way, defects of up to 20 cm at the waistline can be bridged. It is the aim of this study to determine the early and late results of the technique.
Figure 1.
Technique of the “component separation technique” following Ramirez and colleagues.3 After entering the abdominal cavity, the bowels are dissected free from the ventral abdominal wall. (1A) The skin and subcutaneous fat (1) are dissected free from the anterior sheath of the rectus abdominal muscle (5) and the aponeurosis of the external oblique muscle (2). (1B and 1C) The aponeurosis of the external oblique muscle (2) is transected longitudinally about 2 cm lateral from the rectus sheath, including the muscular part on the thoracic wall, which extends at least 5 to 7 cm cranially of the costal margin. (1D) The external oblique muscle (2) is separated from the internal oblique muscle (3), as far laterally as possible. (1E and 1F) If primary closure is impossible with undue tension, a further gain of 2 to 4 cm can be reached by separation of the posterior rectal sheath from the rectus abdominal muscle (5). Care must be taken not to damage the blood supply and the nerves that run between the internal oblique and transverse (4) muscle and enter the rectus abdominal muscle at the posterior side.
Methods
From July 1994 to August 1999, 43 large abdominal wall hernias were repaired, using the “components separation technique” without release of the posterior rectus sheath, in 43 patients. There were 11 women and 32 men with a mean age of 49.7 years (range 22 to 78 years). All patients had midline hernias that could not be closed primarily. The patients were operated on in the Twenteborg Hospital, Almelo (n = 5, RPB); Vrije Universiteit Medical Center, Amsterdam (n = 10, RPB); University Medical Center, Nijmegen (n = 13, HvG); University Hospital, Groningen (n = 9, CR); and Atrium Hospital, Heerlen (n = 6, MHAB); in The Netherlands.
The operations were performed on patients with a midline incisional hernia that could not be closed primarily and in whom mesh repair was contraindicated because of infection, contamination, or absence of the greater omentum to interpose between mesh and bowels. The records of these patients were reviewed and all patients were invited to come to the outpatient clinic to determine the condition of the abdominal wall. The following data were extracted from the medical record: body length and weight, size and cause of the hernia, per- and postoperative mortality and morbidity, with special attention paid to wound and pulmonary complications.
Operative technique
After midline laparotomy or removal of the split skin graft from the bowels, the abdominal cavity is entered. The bowels are dissected free from the ventral abdominal wall. The skin and subcutaneous fat are dissected free from the anterior rectus sheath and the aponeurosis of the external oblique muscle (Figure 1A). Since the perforating branches of the epigastric artery are transected, the blood supply of the skin is at risk, because then it solely depends on the intercostal arteries and branches of the pudendal artery.7 Subsequently, the aponeurosis of the external oblique muscle is transected longitudinally about 2 cm laterally from the rectus sheath (Figure 1B and C), including the muscular part that inserts on the thoracic wall, which extends at least 5 to 7 cm cranially of the costal margin (Figure 1D). The external oblique muscle is separated from the internal oblique muscle, as far laterally as possible. In this way, a gap of 14 to 20 cm can be bridged at the waistline. If primary closure is impossible with undue tension, a further gain of 2 to 4 cm can be reached by separation of the posterior rectal sheath from the rectus abdominal muscle (Figure 1E and F). Care must be taken not to damage the blood supply and the nerves that enter the rectus abdominal muscle at the posterior side. Vacuum drains are left behind in all patients, subcutaneously. In all patients, the fascia and skin are closed with a running polydioxanone suture (PDS-loop, Johnson & Johnson Ltd, New Brunswick, NJ), without undue tension. No specific instructions are given to the patient after the operation.
Results
Reconstruction of a large midline hernia was performed in 43 patients. The mean length of the defect ± 1 standard deviation was 18 cm ± 6, the mean width of the defect was 13 cm ± 7. The mean body mass index [body weight/(length)2] ± 1 standard deviation was 27.3 kg/m2 ± 4.5. The defect resulted after elective surgery in 19 patients and acute surgery in 24 patients. In 11 patients, the defect was a result of open treatment of generalized peritonitis. Thirteen patients had a recurrent incisional hernia, nine after reconstruction with prosthetic material (polypropylene mesh or expanded polytetrafluoroethylene patch).
Reconstruction was performed under clean conditions in 28 patients, clean-contaminated in ten, and contaminated or dirty in five. In 15 patients, the reconstruction was combined with bowel surgery. In three patients, continuity of the colon was restored after Hartmann’s procedure. In six patients, continuity of the small bowel was restored; in two, an ileostomy was dismantled, and in four, multiple enterocutaneous fistulas were repaired. In five patients, an enterostomy was repositioned: three colostomies and two uretero-ileo-cutaneostomies following Bricker. In thirty-eight of the 43 patients, the classical technique as described by Ramirez and colleagues3 was used. In five patients a transection of the aponeurosis of the external oblique muscle was done via a separate incision as described previously.8
The postoperative course was uneventful in 25 patients (58.1%). One patient died on the sixth postoperative day as a result of massive bowel necrosis from mesenteric thrombosis. Wound complications occurred in 14 patients (32.6%): five had a hematoma, two a scroma, one had skin necrosis at the midline, and six patients had a wound infection. Three wound infections occurred in the group of 28 patients in whom the reconstruction was done under clean conditions and in three patients in whom the reconstruction was done under contaminated or dirty conditions. Two patients developed respiratory insufficiency from a combination of increased intraabdominal pressure and preexisting pulmonary disease. In one patient, a rupture of the abdominal wall at the site of the relaxing incision occurred on the first postoperative day. During reoperation it was found that both the external and internal oblique muscle had been transected, resulting in a rupture of the transverse abdominal muscle. The defect was repaired with an onlay polypropylene mesh.
In the outpatient clinic, 38 of the 42 surviving patients were seen at least one year after operation. The mean followup of these patients was 15.6 months (range 12 to 30 months). Twelve of the 38 patients (32%) had a recurrent hernia. Recurrences occurred after a mean period of 13.4 months (range 2 to 24 months). Until now, none of these patients had complaints and had to be reoperated. Recurrence in 6 of the 12 patients occurred after removal of prosthetic material implanted during previous hernia operations. Recurrence of the hernia tends to occur more frequently in morbidly obese patients (mean body mass index 30.1 kg/m2 in the recurrence group versus 25.6 kg/m2 in the nonrecurrence group). Two of the six patients with a wound infection and 2 of the 15 patients who underwent a reconstruction in a contaminated environment had a recurrent hernia. The remaining 4 of 42 patients with less than one year followup (1, 1, 3, and 4 months, respectively) had no recurrent hernia.
Discussion
The components separation technique described by Ramirez and colleagues3 is useful for the repair of large abdominal wall defects under clean and contaminated conditions, although the reherniation rate is relatively high.
In the article by Ramirez and colleagues,3 the results of the technique in the first 11 patients was reported. In seven patients, the technique was used unilaterally after transverse rectal abdominis muscle flap harvesting for reconstructive surgery, and in three patients, the technique was used bilaterally. No complications were reported, and reherniation was not found after a followup of 4 to 42 months. Since then, six series have been published about the results of the components separation technique (Table 1). 3, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 DiBello and Moore9 used a modified technique in 35 patients, in 20 under clean and in 15 under contaminated conditions (Table 1). In none of the patients was a release of the posterior rectal sheath done, and in 15 patients midline closure was supported by an onlay prosthesis of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (n = 3) or a Vicryl (Ethicon, Inc, Somerville, NJ) mesh (n = 12). Postoperative wound complications were reported in 14%, and reherniation was found in 9% after a mean followup of 22 months. Girotto and coworkers10 applied the original technique in 30 patients under clean conditions and in three in the presence of infection. Postoperative wound complications were reported in 27%, with reherniation in 6% after a mean followup of 21 months. Shestak and colleagues11 applied the same technique as DiBello and Moore9 in 22 patients. Postoperative wound complications were reported in 14%. One patient died during the operation because of multiple organ failure. Reherniation was found in 5% after a mean followup of 52 months.
Table 1. Results of the Repair of Large Abdominal Wall Defects with the Component Separation Technique
| First author | Year | Patients | Clean/contaminated | Complications (n) | Reherniation n (%) | Followup mean (range, mo) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ramirez3 | 1990 | 11 | 8/3 | 0 | 0 (0.0) | ? (4–42) |
| DiBello9 | 1996 | 35* | 20/15 | Wound infection (2) Hematoma (1) Seroma (1) | 3 (8.6) | 22 (1–43) |
| Girotto10 | 1999 | 33 | 30/3 | Wound infection (8) Enterocutaneous fistula (1) | 2 (6.1) | 21 (6–57) |
| Shestak11 | 2000 | 22 | ? | Wound infection (2) Seroma (1) Death (1) | 1 (5) | 52 (8–84) |
| Lowe12 | 2000 | 30† | ? | Wound infection (12) Skin ischemia (6) Skin dehiscence (13) | 3 (10) | 12 |
| Cohen13 | 2001 | 24 | 15/9 | Skin dehiscence (2) Seroma (1) | 1 (4) | ? (12–36) |
| Authors | 2002 | 43 | 28/15 | Wound infection (6) Hematoma (5) Seroma (2) Skin necrosis (1) Fascial dehiscence (1) | 12 (30) | 15.6 (12–30) |
* In 15 patients, an onlay synthetic prosthesis was implanted as well. |
† In 10 patients, an onlay polypropylene mesh was implanted as well. |
Postoperative complications were more frequent in the series of Lowe and colleagues,12 who reported on 30 patients. In 20 patients, the original technique was performed; in 10 patients, an onlay polypropylene mesh was used as well (Table 1). Reherniation was found in 10% of the patients after a mean followup of 12 months. The results of our multicenter study corroborate these studies, although the reherniation rate in our series is higher than in other series (Table 1). But comparison of the reherniation rates is hampered by the incomplete data on the size of the initial hernias in two series and by the unknown followup procedure in all series. Most patients in our series had large hernias and in none of the patients could the fascia be closed primarily. Although transection of the myoaponeurosis of the external oblique muscle made primary closure possible, the fascia was closed without undue tension in all patients. Most recurrences were found in the upper abdomen. Reherniation might be the result of insufficient release of the external oblique muscle at its insertion on the thoracic wall. With growing experience, it was recognized that complete transection of the external oblique muscle on the thoracic wall, over a distance of at least 5 cm cephalad of the costal margin, was of utmost importance to prevent undue tension on the fascia in the upper abdomen. The lower reherniation rates in the other series might also be explained by the use, in some patients, of onlay synthetic meshes to support the abdominal wall. Omitting release of the posterior rectal sheath in most of our patients, as in the series of DiBello and Moore,9 is probably not an explanation for the higher reherniation rate in our series.
Although the component separation technique is an attractive method for the reconstruction of abdominal wall defects, this method has five major disadvantages. First, the reherniation rate is relatively high. This might be related to the rather complex hernias, which were included in the study, and the 35% of reconstructions that were done under contaminated conditions. Because no reasonable alternative for reconstruction under these circumstances is available, the component separation technique seems to be valuable.
Second, the skin and subcutaneous tissue must be mobilized over a large distance to reach the aponeurosis of the external oblique muscle, which is retracted far laterally into the flank. This creates a large wound surface that covers the whole ventral abdominal wall from the costal margin to the pubic bone and predisposes to hematoma and seroma formation and infection. Also, mobilization of the skin and subcutaneous tissue endangers its blood supply, which can lead to skin necrosis in the midline. If the musculocutanous perforators of the epigastric artery are transected, the blood supply of the skin depends solely on the intercostal arteries. Interference with the blood supply from the intercostal arteries by scars, enterostomies, or even drains can result in skin necrosis, as was found in 20% of the patients in the study by Lowe and colleagues.12
Third, the technique destabilizes the outer layer of the abdominal wall, allowing shifting of the skin in relation to the underlying myoaponeurotic tissue. This makes application in patients with enterostomies difficult. Under these circumstances, we now use a modified technique in which separate incisions are made just lateral to the rectus sheath for transection of the aponeurosis of the external oblique muscle. In this way, the wound surface is markedly reduced and the blood supply to the skin via the dominant musculocutaneous perforators of the epigastric artery is preserved. A well-vascularized compound flap is created that can be advanced to the midline. Existing enterostomies can be left in place and new enterostomies are facilitated because shifting of the skin in relation to the rectus muscle has been prevented.8
Recently, we have performed endoscopically assisted transection of the aponeurosis of the external oblique muscle. Via a 2-cm skin incision, a balloon is introduced in the space between the internal and external oblique muscle. Subsequently, the plane between the external and internal oblique muscles is dissected free by balloon dilatation, followed by transection of the external oblique muscle under videoendoscopic control. This saves the circulation via the intercostal arteries, diminishes the wound surface, and improves the cosmetic result. Until now, we used this technique in five patients. No wound or other complications occurred during the postoperative course and all enterostomies functioned well.14
The results of this study corroborate the results of a series of 53 patients with large midline incisional hernias that were reconstructed using a polypropylene mesh. In this series, we found 41% wound complications and a reherniation rate of 28%.15
In conclusion, the component separation technique is an attractive method for the repair of large midline hernias, especially when the use of biomaterials is contraindicated. Modifications of the technique, such as support by onlay prosthetics to decrease reherniation rate and transection of the external oblique muscle via separate incisions to diminish the extent of dissection need further research.
Author contributions
Study conception and design: de Vries Reilingh, van Goor, Rosman, Bleichrodt
Acquisition of data: de Vries Reilingh, van Engeland
Analysis and interpretation of data: de Vries Reilingh, Bleichrodt
Drafting of manuscript: de Vries Reilingh, Bleichrodt
Critical revision: van Goor, Rosman, Bemelmans, de Jong
Supervision: Bleichrodt
Drawing: van Nieuwenhoven
References
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☆ No competing interests declared.
PII: S1072-7515(02)01478-3
© 2003 American College of Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Volume 196, Issue 1 , Pages 32-37, January 2003
