Background: Incisional hernia is a frequent complication of abdominal surgery (2-20% of all cases). Recurrence rate after simple repair without mesh is very high. The use of prosthetic materials has reduced the recurrences. Over the past decade, laparoscopic repair of incisional and umbilical hernias has become an interesting alternative to open procedure.
Patients and methods: The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate efficacy, safety and advantages of laparoscopic approach in the treatment of incisional and umbilical hernias. From February 2000 through June 2006, a total of 127 incisional hernias (primary and recurrent), 21 umbilical and 19 epigastric hernias, were treated by laparoscopic approach. The exclusions for laparoscopy were: defect size less than 2 cm or more 20 cm, anesthesiologic problems, hemocoagulative disorders. The females/males ratio was 0/7, with a mean age of 59 years (range 24-83). The abdominal associated disease treated were 26. Three cases were treated as urgencies (strangulated hernias).
Results: The conversion rate was 2 cases (1.2%). Mean operative time was 78 min (range 25-170). The mean postoperative hospital stay was 2.1 days (range: 1-5). The intra- and postoperative complication rate was 5% (above all seromas). The recurrence rate was 1.8% (3 cases).
Conclusions: More studies with long-term follow-up are necessary to prove the advantages of laparoscopic technique, but this large experience of more than 5 years, demonstrates that in selected cases the laparoscopic approach may be an interesting and effective alternative to open technique.