I Have a Hernia Due to DIEP Surgery. Is Alloderm Safe for Hernia Repair?

Hang in there. I hope you are happy with your DIEP reconstruction. Over time, patients with DIEP reconstruction are happier than they were initially, in part probably because of bumps in the road such as your hernia. 
Alloderm was used for hernia repairs routinely about 15 years ago but the fact that is tends to stretch makes it not as good as other products, both tissue-derived and mesh, which can be effectively used to repair hernias. I recommend you talk with your surgeon and ask what material they plan to use for your hernia repair and why it is their preferred choice. 

Thank you for the question!  I'm sorry to hear of this unfortunate event following your DIEP flap.  Acellular dermal matrices (e.g., AlloMax, AlloDerm, FlexHD, etc.) are collagen sheets derived from human cadaveric donors, which have been treated to remove antigenic cells and such.  While they have revolutionized breast reconstruction in particular, they have been used to treated hernias and bulges for the abdominal wall.  

It is quite uncommon to develop a true hernia following a DIEP flap, since the muscle should be kept intact and abdominal wall integrity changed very little if any.  Bulges are more common, but much less than a muscle-sparing TRAM or the conventional TRAM flap, where the a portion or the entire muscle is harvested for the reconstruction of a breast.  Regardless, these dermal matrices act as a scaffolding for tissue ingrowth and may be used for abdominal wall repair.  The downside of these are the predictable stretch that occurs once placed.  Although desirable for breast reconstruction in order to obtain better shape, it is not as ideal for the abdominal wall repair, as you ideally do not want any stretching following repair, but certainly could be used.  

Your surgeon may consider a porcine dermal matrix which has much less stretch than the human type.   If you are experiencing some bulging of the abdomen along with some discomfort, repair should be entertained and repair via tightening of the fascia alone or with the use of either human or porcine dermal matrix, or even a mesh, could be done.  I hope that this helps!  Best of luck with this!

Alloderm is a safe product for hernia repair but is not ideal.  There are several materials that can be used to perform repair of bulges which are typically what develops after surgery and a weakening in the fascia where the incision was made to follow the perforator and ultimately the blood vessels that would be hooked up to your chest later.  I have seen these most common in bilateral DIEP flap cases but they can occur in unilateral cases.  Each surgeon will manage differently but simply praline mesh repair is appropriate in these cases.