A novel approach for salvaging infected prosthetic mesh after ventral hernia repair

Background Salvaging infected prosthetic material after ventral hernia repair is rarely successful. Most cases require mesh excision and complex abdominal wall reconstruction, with variable success rates. We report two cases of mesh salvage with a novel use of percutaneous drainage and antibiotic irrigation. Cases Two patients developed infected seromas after laparoscopic ventral hernia repair. One patient with a remote history of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) mesh infection underwent laparoscopic ventral hernia repair with a 20 x 23-cm piece of Parietex composite mesh. Two weeks post-operatively, he developed fevers and MRSA was aspirated from the seroma. Another patient had a 32 x 33-cm piece of ePTFE placed for repair. He subsequently developed a massive seroma requiring repeated aspirations. Four months following the repair, he developed an infected seroma with Klebsiella pneumonia. Each patient underwent percutaneous drainage of their abscesses with a six-French-pigtail catheter under ultrasound guidance. After 2 weeks of parenteral antibiotics and clinical resolution, the patients were placed on 4 weeks of gentamicin irrigations (80 mg in 30 cc solution) via the drain three times per day. Once therapy was completed, the drains were removed. The first patient also remains on daily oral doxycycline for suppression for his MRSA. Both patients have remained free of clinical signs of infection at 12 and 16 months, respectively, following the completion of therapy. Conclusion Percutaneous drainage followed by antibiotic irrigation is a potential alternative to prosthetic removal when treating infected mesh in carefully selected patients.