Background and objectives: Laparoscopic treatment of incisional hernias reduces surgical traumas and postoperative pain. It requires intraperitoneal placement of a foreign body that might cause adhesions, leading to postoperative complications. The aim of this study was to improve reliability of ultrasound in quantitatively estimating adhesions to exploit the other advantages of ultrasound, such as availability and versatility.
Methods: The ultrasound examination was performed by using a hand-held 3.5 MHz curved linear probe. The image data were analyzed prior to scan conversion. Two square regions of interest were defined, one in the abdominal wall and one in the underlying bowels. A cross correlation-based algorithm tracked each region by using a time span of 3 frames. Subtracting the 2 displacement functions from each other yielded a relative displacement function, indicating the degree of bowel adhesions. This was compared with the intraoperative findings.
Results and conclusions: The method was proven to be a rapid and robust method for quantitatively estimating the degree of bowel adhesions. It is limited to evaluation of adhesions between bowel and abdominal wall. However, this ultrasound technique could assist in the safe placement of ports prior to redo laparoscopic surgery.