Hernia Repair with Marlex Mesh

In 1959 and again in 1960, questionnaires were sent to a number of surgeons who had used Marlex mesh to repair one or more hernias. Of these surgeons, 264 replied to our questionnaires, reporting 372 cases. Almost all of the states were represented in this survey, and a few reports came from foreign countries. Also included in this report are 169 patients that I operated upon and in the clinic services of the Hermann and Jefferson Davis Hospitals (during 1958, 1959, and 1960), for a total of 541 patients operated upon.

Incisional Hernias

Of these patients, 358 had incisional hernias. Ninety were recurrent, and 132 were quite large, the hernial defect being over 20 cm. in its greatest diameter. The majority (299) were repaired by approximating or imbricating the fascial edges of the hernial ring and suturing the Marlex mesh over the approximated tissues as an onlay graft (Fig. 1