Migration of Wire Mesh Into the Intestinal Lumen Causing an Intestinal Obstruction 30 Years After Repair of a Ventral Hernia

Wire mesh repair of abdominal wall hernias was abandoned almost four decades ago. Recently, a woman who had a wire mesh repair of an incisional hernia in 1964 came to the emergency room with a complete small bowel obstruction. The obstruction was caused by a segment of wire mesh that broke off from the abdominal wall and migrated into the small bowel lumen. During the preceding 2 years, she had been evaluated by two different gastroenterologists for chronic anemia, but they failed to obtain an evaluation of the small intestine. This case report shows that abdominal foreign bodies may migrate into the intestinal tract. I recommend that an evaluation of chronic anemia in the geriatric patient include evaluation of the small intestine.