title: Laparoscopic repair of ventral and incisional hernias: our experience in 150 patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Incisional hernias develop in 2 to 20% of laparotomy incisions. Approximately 100,000 ventral hernias are operated on each year in the United States. The reported recurrence rates for open repair are 25-52% for primary and 12.5-19% for mesh repair. Compared to the open technique, laparoscopic repair has low rates of complications and recurrence, greater patient acceptance, and shorter hospital stay.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between April 1999 and April 2004, we treated 150 patients (111 female, 39 male) with ventral and incisional hernias laparoscopically. Data concerning the age and sex of patients, the location, number, and size of fascial defects, the type of hernias and their contents, the size and type of meshes used in repair, operative time, length of hospital stay, and postoperative complications were collected.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 150 patients, 92 had incisional hernias and 58 had umbilical hernias. Polypropylene was used in 85 cases, dual mesh in 40 cases, and composite mesh in 25 cases. The mean age of the patients was 56.0 years (range, 33-81 years). Mean operative time was 63 minutes (range, 30-125 minutes). Mean postoperative hospital stay was 2.5 days (range, 1-15 days). The postoperative complication rate was 8.6% (seroma, paralytic ileus, small bowel injury, and suture-site neuralgia). The mean follow-up period was 32 months (range, 4-60 months). There was a 3% recurrence rate. Three subileus cases were detected during follow-up.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The laparoscopic approach to ventral and incisional hernias is safe, feasible, and a good alternative to the open approach. Our results are comparable with those of other reports in the literature.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey. nyavuz@istanbul.edu.tr
authors.forename: Nihat
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yavuz
authors.forename: Turgut
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ipek
authors.forename: Abdullah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: As
authors.forename: Metin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kapan
authors.forename: Erhun
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Eyuboglu
authors.forename: Sabri
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Erguney
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003094:Collagen; D005260:Female; D006554:Hernia, Umbilical / Q000601:surgery; D006555:Hernia, Ventral / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011126:Polypropylenes; D011138:Polytetrafluoroethylene; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012008:Recurrence; D013526:Surgical Mesh; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D011126:Polypropylenes; D011138:Polytetrafluoroethylene; D003094:Collagen