Establishing an area of overlap for mesh placement is essential in the repair of a flank hernia. Superiorly, the dissection and overlap one can achieve can be limited by the costal margin. However, the preperitoneal plane can be developed, separating the peritoneum off the diaphragm obtaining 8 to 10 cm of overlap underneath the ribs in the cephalad direction as illustrated in Figure 6-2 and
Figure 6-3. Posteriorly, the psoas muscle and spine form an anatomic boundary. In this area, care is taken to identify and avoid injury to the ureter, gonadal vessels, and iliac vessels as shown in
Figure 6-4 and
Figure 6-5. Additionally, the genitofemoral, ilioinguinal, iliohypogastric, and lateral femoral cutaneous nerves are identified and avoided when securing the prosthetic. Medially, the peritoneum can be adhered densely to the posterior rectus sheath. We prefer to transition the dissection plane into the posterior rectus sheath just medial to the linea semilunaris (
Fig. 6-6). This allows the dissection to be carried all the way to the linea alba. Inferiorly, the Cooper ligament and the pelvis are exposed by sweeping away the bladder. Care should be taken to avoid injuring the spermatic cord structures as they are often encountered at this point.
The mesh is placed into the preperitoneal space, folded in a “taco” configuration The mesh is initially fixed posteriorly (Fig. 6-8,
A). The suture is placed off the edge of the mesh to allow the mesh to drape over the psoas muscle to the ureter. The sutures can now be passed with the Reverdin needle inferior to the lateral border of the psoas muscle to avoid major vascular injury. Inferiorly, the mesh is fixated to the iliac crest in the following fashion, illustrated in
Figure 6-8,
B and
Figure 6-9. A surgical cordless drill is used to preplace the number of designated holes in the iliac crest. Mitek bone anchors (Mitek Surgical Products, Westwood, MA), which contain titanium anchors with double #2 braided polyester sutures, are placed into the tracts. Each arm of the bone anchor suture is passed through the mesh and tied, securing the mesh to the iliac crest. These sutures are not placed at the edge of the mesh. Instead the suture is placed 8 to 10 cm off the edge of the mesh. This allows the mesh to drape past the iliac crest for adequate overlap. A total of 8 to 10 fixation sutures are then placed The remaining transfascial sutures for mesh fixation are placed using a #1 polypropylene suture passed through the mesh and the needle removed. Once in place, the mesh is pulled to recreate normal physiologic tension. We recommend the circumferential fixation begin posteriorly, then medially, then inferiorly, and finally superiorly. After the inferior edge of the mesh is fixated, the flex in the table is removed and the patient is allowed to return to neutral position. It is important to return the anatomic position to allow appropriate tensioning of the mesh and avoid buckling. It is also critical to not overstretch the mesh excessively tight to limit lateral movements and stretching to the contralateral side. The cross sectional images in
Figure 6-6 illustrate the location of mesh placement. At the completion of the mesh fixation, the boundaries of the fascial defect should be relatively reapproximated before closure, as seen in
Figure 6-8,
C and
Figure 6-10. The fascia of the lateral abdominal wall is closed using a #1 absorbable monofilament suture in a figure of eight fashion.