title: Prospective comparison of laparoscopic incisional ventral hernia repair and Chevrel technique.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Laparoscopic incisional hernia repair has become an attractive and widely adopted alternative to open procedures. The Chevrel technique is still frequently performed, owing to its safety and effectiveness. Our study prospectively compares the new and the old technique.
  
  
  METHODS
  We prospectively collected data from laparoscopic and open incisional ventral hernia repairs performed from January 2006 to December 2008. Twenty-one patients were ultimately enrolled in the open and 20 in the video-laparoscopic (VL) group for the statistical analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Open and VL groups were homogeneous for demographics and size of parietal defect. No differences were observed in operating time and postoperative pain, although in the VL group, we found a tendency toward shorter hospital stays and higher postoperative quality of life. We reported a significantly higher rate of wound complications in the open group (7 vs. 1; P=0.03).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Both techniques proved to be effective, although Chevrel presented a high rate of wound complications.
authors: Department of Surgical Sciences, Section of General Surgical Clinics and Surgical Therapy, Parma University Medical School, Parma, Italy. fede53@lycos.com
authors: Federico
authors: F
authors: Marchesi
authors: Ferdinando
authors: F
authors: Pinna
authors: Stefano
authors: S
authors: Cecchini
authors: Leopoldo
authors: L
authors: Sarli
authors: Luigi
authors: L
authors: Roncoroni
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006555:Hernia, Ventral / Q000601:surgery*; D059685:Herniorrhaphy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D007813:Laparotomy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013536:Suture Techniques; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014741:Video Recording