Evaluation of the Rebound Hernia Repair Device for Laparoscopic Hernia Repair

Background:

The characteristics of the ideal type of mesh are still being debated. Mesh shrinkage and fixation have been associated with complications. Avoiding shrinkage and fixation would improve hernia recurrence rates and complications. To our knowledge, this is the first study of a device with a self-expanding frame for laparoscopic hernia repair.

Methods:

Six Rebound Hernia Repair Devices were placed laparoscopically in pigs. This device is a condensed polypropylene, super-thin, lightweight, macro-porous mesh with a self-expanding Nitinol frame. The devices were assessed for adhesions, shrinkage, and histological examination. Laboratory and radiologic evaluations were also performed.

Results:

The handling properties of the devices facilitated their laparoscopic placement. They were easily identified with simple x-rays. The mesh was firmly integrated within the surrounding tissue. One device was associated with 3 small adhesions. The other 5 HRDs had no adhesions. We noted no shrinkage or folding. All devices preserved their original size and shape.

Conclusions:

At this evaluation stage, we found that the Rebound Hernia Repair Device may serve for laparoscopic hernia repair and has favorable handling properties. It prevents folding and shrinkage of the mesh. It may eliminate the need for fixation, thus preventing chronic pain. The Nitinol frame also allowed radiologic evaluation for gross movement. Further studies will be needed to evaluate its clinical application.     

腹腔镜胆囊切除术联合脐疝修补术24例报告

目的探讨同时行腹腔镜胆囊切除术（laparoscopic cholecystectomy,LC）和脐疝修补术的可行性。方法回顾性分析2003年11月～2008年4月24例同时行三孔法LC和脐疝修补术的临床资料。于脐疝缺损处切开入腹,三孔法完成LC,Mayo法修补脐部缺损。结果24例手术均成功,手术时间35～65 min,平均48 min。术中出血量5～30 ml,平均16 ml。脐部切口无一例感染、皮瓣坏死。术后住院时间3～4d。24例随访1～54个月,平均28.6月,疝无复发。结论同时行LC和脐疝修补术可行、安全;较小缺损的脐疝Mayo修补法操作简单、效果满意。     

Bilateral Laparoscopic Totally Extraperitoneal Repair Without Mesh Fixation

Background and Objectives:

Mesh fixation during laparoscopic totally extraperitoneal repair is thought to be necessary to prevent recurrence. However, mesh fixation may increase postoperative chronic pain. This study aimed to describe the experience of a single surgeon at our institution performing this operation.

Methods:

We performed a retrospective review of the medical records of all patients who underwent bilateral laparoscopic totally extraperitoneal repair without mesh fixation for inguinal hernia from January 2005 to December 2011. Demographic, operative, and postoperative data were obtained for analysis.

Results:

A total of 343 patients underwent simultaneous bilateral laparoscopic totally extraperitoneal repair of 686 primary and recurrent inguinal hernias from January 2005 to December 2011. The mean operative time was 33 minutes. One patient was converted to an open approach (0.3%), and 1 patient had intraoperative bladder injury. Postoperative hematoma/seroma occurred in 5 patients (1.5%), wound infection in 1 (0.3%), hematuria in 2 (0.6%), and acute myocardial infarction in 1 (0.3%). Chronic pain developed postoperatively in 9 patients (2.6%); 3 of them underwent re-exploration. All patients were discharged home a few hours after surgery except for 3 patients. Among the 686 hernia repairs, there were a total of 20 recurrences (2.9%) in 18 patients (5.2%). Two patients had bilateral recurrences, whereas 16 had unilateral recurrences. Twelve of the recurrences occurred after 1 year (60%). Fourteen recurrences occurred among direct hernias (70%).

Conclusion:

Compared with the literature, our patients had fewer intraoperative and postoperative complications, less chronic pain, and no increase in operative time or length of hospital stay but had a slight increase in recurrence rate.     

Long-Term Durability and Comfort of Laparoscopic Ventral Hernia Repair

Background:

Repair of ventral hernias, including primary ventral hernias and incisional ventral hernias, is performed in the United States 90,000 times per year. Open or traditional ventral hernia repairs involve the significant morbidity and expense of a laparotomy and a significant risk of recurrent herniation. Laparoscopic ventral hernia repair (LVHR) may offer a less-invasive alternative with shorter length of hospital stay, fewer cardiopulmonary complications, and low recurrence rates.

Methods:

225 patients underwent laparoscopic ventral hernia repairs in which carboxymethylcellulose-sodium hyaluronate coating (Sepramesh, Davol, Providence, RI) was used primarily. All cases were included prospectively from the study period of 2002 through 2009. Patient characteristics were recorded, and follow-up analysis was performed over a period of 42 mo following surgery. Recurrence, reoperations, and all complications were recorded. Mesh awareness and mesh-related pain were assessed using the hernia-specific Carolinas Comfort Scale (CCS) instrument, completed by 72 patients.

Results:

Over 42 mo of follow-up, 2 ventral hernias have recurred, and no long-term bowel erosion or fistulization has occurred. Little or no mesh-related symptoms were reported, and mean scores for mesh awareness and mesh pain were 3.6 and 3.2, respectively, on a scale from 0–40 (lower scores signify less pain or awareness). Two serious early complications occurred related to intestinal ileus and metal tacks producing intestinal perforation, and this led to a change in the tacking devices used.

Conclusions:

LVHR with carboxymethylcellulose-sodium hyaluronate coating (Sepramesh) is safe and effective. Complications are rare, the repair is durable, and long-term results are good with rare recurrences, low awareness of mesh, and little pain. Technical lessons include use of at least one transfascial suture and the avoidance of metal tacks for fixation.     

Laparoscopic Paraesophageal Hernia Repair. How I do it

Introduction  The approach to paraesophageal hernias has changed radically over the last 15 years, both in terms of indications for the repair and of surgical technique. Discussion  Today we operate mostly on patients who are symptomatic and the laparoscopic repair has replaced in most cases the open approach through either a laparotomy or a thoracotomy. The following describes a step by step approach to the laparoscopic repair of paraesophageal hernia. Presented at the 49th Annual Meeting of the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, San Diego, California, May 17–21, 2008     

Laparoscopic Repair of Left Lumbar Hernia After Laparoscopic Left Nephrectomy

Lumbar hernias, rarely seen in clinical practice, can be acquired after open or laparoscopic flank surgery. We describe a successful laparoscopic preperitoneal mesh repair of multiple trocar-site hernias after extraperitoneal nephrectomy. All the key steps including creating a peritoneal flap, reducing the hernia contents, and fixation of the mesh are described. A review of the literature on this infrequent operation is presented. Laparoscopic repair of lumbar hernias has all the advantages of laparoscopic ventral hernia repair.     

Comparative Evaluation of Adhesions to Intraperitoneally Placed Fixation Materials: A Laparoscopic Study in Rats

After laparoscopic ventral hernia repair, the nature of the adhesions to fixation materials or to mesh had not been clarified. We examined adhesion formation specific to the fixation material in rats. We designed an experimental laparoscopy setup, and placed four intraperitoneal fixation materials on the peritoneum of rats without a mesh graft. Another group of researchers documented the incidence and intensity of postoperative adhesion formation. The adhesion scores for the nickel-titanium anchor were significantly greater than those for polylactic acid (p = 0.004), a titanium tacker (p < 0.0001), and fibrin glue (p < 0.0001). No adhesions occurred in the fibrin glue group. Fibrin glue is the preferred fixation material because it produced no postoperative adhesions. The nickel-titanium anchor produced heavy adhesions but may be applicable for recurrent hernia cases and in patients with thin abdominal walls.     

Bulging of the Mesh After Laparoscopic Repair of Ventral and Incisional Hernias

Background and Objectives:

To investigate the prevalence, diagnosis, clinical significance, and treatment strategies for bulging in the area of laparoscopic repair of ventral hernia that is caused by mesh protrusion through the hernia opening, but with intact peripheral fixation of the mesh and actually a still sufficient repair.

Methods:

Medical records of all 765 patients who underwent laparoscopic ventral hernia repair were reviewed, and all patients with a swelling in the repaired area were identified and analyzed.

Results:

Twenty-nine patients were identified. They all underwent a computed tomography assessment. Seventeen patients (2.2% of the total group) had a hernia recurrence; in an additional 12 patients (1.6%), radiologic examinations indicated only bulging of the mesh but no recurrence. Bulging was associated with pain in 4 patients who underwent relaparoscopy and got a new, larger mesh tightly stretched over the entire previous repair. Eight asymptomatic patients decided on “watchful waiting.” All patients remained symptom free during a median follow-up of 22 months.

Conclusion:

Symptomatic bulging, though not a recurrence, requires a new repair and must be considered as an important negative outcome of laparoscopic ventral hernia repair. In asymptomatic patients, “watchful waiting” seems justified.     

Umbilical hernia repair with mesh: identifying effectors of ideal outcomes

Background

Quality of life has become an important focus for improvement in hernia repair.

Methods

The International Hernia Mesh Registry was queried. The Carolinas Comfort Scale quantitated quality of life at 1-month, 6-month, and annual follow-up. Scores of 0 (completely asymptomatic) in all categories without recurrence defined an ideal outcome.

Results

The analysis consisted of 363 umbilical hernia repairs; 18.7% were laparoscopic. Demographics included age of 51.5 ± 13.8 years, 24.5% were female, and the average body mass index was 30.63 ± 5.9 kg/m². Mean defect size was 4.3 ± 3.1 cm². Mean follow-up was 18.2 months. Absent/minimal preoperative symptoms were predictive of ideal outcome at all time points and increasing age was predictive at 6 months and 1 year. At 6 months, the use of fixation sutures alone versus tacks (odds ratio 14.1) predicted ideal outcome.

Conclusions

Ideal outcomes are dependent on both patient-specific and operative factors. The durable, ideal outcome in umbilical hernia repair is most likely in an older, asymptomatic patient who undergoes mesh fixation with permanent suture.     

A Collective Review on Mesh-Based Repair of Umbilical and Epigastric Hernias

In accordance with the tension-free principles for other hernias, umbilical and epigastric hernia repair should probably be mesh-based. The number of randomized studies is increasing, most of them showing significantly less recurrences with the use of a mesh. Different devices are available and are applicable by several approaches. The objective of this review was to evaluate recent literature for the different types of mesh for umbilical and epigastric hernia repair and recurrences after mesh repair. A multi-database search was conducted to reveal relevant studies since 2001 reporting mesh-based repair of primary umbilical/epigastric hernia and their outcomes in adult patients. A total of 20 studies were included, 15 of them solely involved umbilical hernias, whereas the remaining studies included epigastric hernias as well. A median of 124 patients (range, 17–384) was investigated per study. Three quarters of the included studies had a follow-up of at least 2 years. Six studies described the results of laparoscopic approach, of which one reported a recurrence rate of 2.7 %; in the remaining studies, no recurrences occurred. Two comparative studies reported a lower incidence of complications and postoperative pain after laparoscopic repair compared to open repair. Seventeen studies reported results of open techniques, of which seven studies showed no recurrence. Other studies reported recurrence rates up to 3.1 %. A wide range of complication rates were reported (0–33 %). This collective review showed acceptable recurrence rates for mesh-based umbilical and epigastric hernia repair. A wide range of devices was investigated. A tendency toward more complications after laparoscopic repair was found compared to open repair.     

Laparoscopic Total Extraperitoneal Hernia Repair Outcomes

Methods:A retrospective chart review examined outcomes of 1240 laparoscopic hernia operations in 783 patients, focusing on intraoperative and early postoperative complications, pain, and time until return to work and normal physical activities.Results:There were no intraoperative complications in this series; 106 patients experienced early postoperative complications across 8 evaluated categories: urinary retention (4.1%), seroma (3.0%), testicular/hemiscrotal swelling (1.9%), testicular atrophy (0%), hydrocele (0.6%), mesh infection (0.1%), and neurological symptoms (transient, 1.0%; persistent, 0.2%). Patients used an average of 5.6 Percocet pills after the procedure, and mean times until return to work and normal activities, including their routine exercise regimen, were 3.0 and 3.8 days, respectively.Conclusion:Complication rates and convalescence times were considered equivalent or superior to those found in other studies assessing both laparoscopic and open techniques. The usage of multiple Endostaples did not result in increased neurologic complications in the early postoperative period when compared with findings in the literature. In the hands of an experienced surgeon, total extraperitoneal repair is a safe, effective alternative to open inguinal hernia repair.     

Moloney Darn Repair Versus Lichtenstein Mesh Hernioplasty for Open Inguinal Hernia Repair

Purpose To compare two tension-free techniques of inguinal hernia repair: the Moloney darn repair (MDR) and Lichtenstein mesh hernioplasty (LMH). Methods The subjects of this study were 651 patients from a total 732 who underwent open inguinal herniorrhaphy at our clinic between January 2000 and January 2006. We evaluated and compared analgesic requirement in the first 24 h, operative time, hospital stay, early postoperative complications, time until return to work, and recurrence, between patients who underwent MDR (group A) and patients who underwent LMH (group B). Results Group B patients required less analgesia in the first 24 h than group A patients. Conversely, the mean operative time and postoperative hospital stay were shorter in group A. Early postoperative complication rates and the time until return to work did not differ significantly between the two groups. During follow-up, recurrences developed in three patients from group A and four from group B. The cost of MDR was significantly less than that of LMH. Conclusions Both MDR and LMH resulted in rapid recovery and low recurrence rates; however, the advantage of the MDR lies in the fact that it does not require mesh, so it is much less expensive.     

Emergency Intraperitoneal Onlay Mesh Repair of Incarcerated Spigelian Hernia

Background and Objectives:

Spigelian hernia is a rare cause of incarcerated ventral abdominal hernia that may pose a diagnostic dilemma. However, with the increasing utilization of double contrast computed tomography (CT) for undiagnosed small bowel obstruction in a virgin abdomen, more such cases are being diagnosed with increasing confidence. Furthermore, with the rapid expansion of the indications for minimal access surgery in emergency situations, these rare emergencies are increasingly tackled using a laparoscopic approach leading to swift patient recovery and discharge.

Methods:

We present the case of an emergency intraperitoneal onlay mesh (IPOM) repair of Spigelian hernia, causing acute small bowel obstruction in a 55-year-old man with liver disease and ascites that was diagnosed using a CT scan. We conducted a search of Medline, Embase, Science Citation Index, Current Contents, PubMed, and the Cochrane Database to review the history of laparoscopic repair of Spigelian hernia and its various advancements, which are briefly presented here.

Results:

The hernia was successfully reduced using laparoscopy, revealing a moderate-size defect in the linea semilunaris. The hernial defect was repaired with a composite mesh that was tacked into position. The patient was discharged from the hospital on the second postoperative day.

Conclusions:

Spigelian hernia in an emergency setting can be easily and swiftly repaired using the IPOM method utilizing a composite mesh.     

The Use of Needlescopic Instruments in Laparoscopic Ventral Hernia Repair

A successful laparoscopic hernia repair requires complete covering of the hernia defect, adequate tension of the prosthesis, and secure stapling with a stapler. We describe herein our technique of performing laparoscopic hernia repair using a needlescopic instrument which results in minimal damage to the abdominal wall and has significant cosmetic benefits. Our technique is easy to perform and useful for achieving initial anchoring of the prosthesis before fixation to the abdominal wall with a laparoscopic stapler. Received: October 18, 2000 / Accepted: May 15, 2001     

Minimally Invasive Spigelian Hernia Repair

Introduction:

Spigelian hernia is an uncommon ventral hernia characterized by a defect in the linea semilunaris. Repair of spigelian hernia has traditionally been accomplished via an open transverse incision and primary repair. The purpose of this article is to present 2 case reports of incarcerated spigelian hernia that were successfully repaired laparoscopically using Gortex mesh and to present a review of the literature regarding laparoscopic repair of spigelian hernias.

Methods:

Retrospective chart review and Medline literature search.

Results:

Two patients underwent laparoscopic mesh repair of incarcerated spigelian hernias. Both were started on a regular diet on postoperative day 1 and discharged on postoperative days 2 and 3. One patient developed a seroma that resolved without intervention. There was complete resolution of preoperative symptoms at the 12-month follow-up.

Conclusion:

Minimally invasive repair of spigelian hernias is an alternative to the traditional open surgical technique. Further studies are needed to directly compare the open and the laparoscopic repair.