Prevention of perineal hernia after laparoscopic and robotic abdominoperineal resection: review with illustrative case series of internal hernia through pelvic mesh

This review is intended to raise awareness of placing a pelvic mesh to prevent perineal hernias in cases of minimally invasive (MIS) abdominoperineal resections (APR) and, in doing so, causing internal hernias through the mesh. In this article, we review the published literature and present an illustrative series of 4 consecutive cases of early internal hernia through a pelvic mesh defect. These meshes were placed to prevent perineal hernias after laparoscopic or robotic APRs. The discussion centres on 3 key questions: Should one be placing a pelvic mesh following an APR? What are some of the technical details pertaining to the initial mesh placement? What are the management options related to internal hernias through such a mesh?