Incisional Hernia After Peritoneal Dialysis Catheter Placement in a Patient on Sirolimus.

Hernias and peritoneal dialysis (PD) catheter leaks are frequent complications in patients on PD. Transplant recipients have multiple risk factors for delayed wound healing, such as use of corticosteroids and sirolimus, and the presence of uremia and diabetes mellitus. We report a rare occurrence of incisional hernia attributable to internal wound dehiscence after PD catheter placement in a patient on sirolimus.A 34-year-old Latino American man was started on PD training 4 weeks after placement of a PD catheter. Soon after completing training, he developed a large soft bulge close to the PD catheter, with expansile cough impulse suggestive of an incisional hernia filled with peritoneal dialysate. The size of the bulge would decrease after the dialysate was drained. No external leak of dialysate was evident along the exit site.Because of the size of the hernia and the history of it filling soon after dialysis exchange, the feeling was that wound dehiscence had occurred from the peritoneal side, resulting in a large incisional hernia. Because of the large size of the hernia within few weeks of starting PD, sirolimus was suspected to have induced poor wound healing, contributing to formation of the hernia.Sirolimus was stopped, and the patient underwent PD catheter removal and repair of the hernia. A new PD catheter was placed on the opposite side of the abdomen 10 days later. After another 6 weeks, the patient was started on PD. He has been doing well for the 15 months since then, with no recurrence of the hernia. Because he still had residual renal function, he continued to receive low-dose prednisone and mycophenolate sodium. At 10 months after PD start, he stopped the mycophenolate sodium on his own, and we did not resume it. He is still on low-dose prednisone.In end-stage renal disease resulting from failing renal transplantation or from calcineurin inhibitor nephropathy in solid-organ transplantation, sirolimus is a risk factor for wound dehiscence, development of incisional hernia, and peritoneal dialysate leak.Practical tips: Sirolimus should be stopped several days before PD catheter placement. Sirolimus should also be stopped if a PD catheter leak is detected or if incisional hernia develops soon after initiation of PD. Sirolimus should be held till surgical repair of the hernia and removal and replacement of the catheter.