title: Degree of adhesions after repair of incisional hernia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  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.
  
  
  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.
authors.affiliation: SINTEF Health Research, 7465 Trondheim, Norway, Research Scientist, Dept. Medical Technology, 7465 Trondheim, Norway. Sebastien.Muller@sintef.no
authors.forename: Sebastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Muller
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Langø
authors.forename: Reidar
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brekken
authors.forename: Brynjulf
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ystgaard
mesh_terms: D006555:Hernia, Ventral / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D000267:Tissue Adhesions / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology; D014463:Ultrasonography; D014945:Wound Healing