HANDLING OF INCISIONAL HERNIAS AROUND PERMANENT COLOSTOMIES AND ILEOSTOMIES

Not too infrequently incisional hernias occur about a permanent colostomy or ileostomy and the patient finds himself with a huge bulging hernia with his colostomy or ileostomy right in the center of it. I have operated upon three such patients and wish to report the method I used in handling these cases. Report of a Case A 59-year-old robust man had a Miles operation in May, 1954. He promptly developed a hernia, which was repaired by the surgeon who had operated upon him. The hernia recurred and was again repaired by the same surgeon. It recurred again. The patient then went to another surgeon, who made two attempts at repairing the hernia without success and then referred the patient to me. On examination the patient was found to have a huge incisional hernia, principally to the left of the midline, with a colostomy opening near the center of it (fig.