title: Laparoscopic ventral hernia repair: defining the learning curve.
abstract: Between 2004 and June 2011, 181 patients underwent laparoscopic ventral hernia repair. Three main surgeons, all experienced in laparoscopic procedures, performed all the cases. After analyzing the operative time (OT) for 3 main surgeons, within the first 20 cases the overall performance plateaued. Data from 60 patients (50F, 10M), with a mean age of 42.3 years (range, 26 to 88 y) and a mean hernia defect size of 6.5 cm (range, 4 to 18 y), were evaluated. No significant differences were recorded among the 3 surgeons in OT and intraoperative or postoperative complications. But 3 (5%, P<0.03) patients had complications, and the recurrence rate was 6.6% with a mean follow-up of 54 months (range, 42 to 70 mo). One had prolonged postoperative ileus, the second had bowel serosal tear, and the last had port-site incarcerated hernia. Our results showed that the OT of 98.9 minutes (range, 48 to 205 min) stabilized in 12 cases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Minimally Invasive Surgical Centre, National University Hospital, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Arwa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Harazi
authors.forename: Rajat
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Goel
authors.forename: Charles T K
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Wei Keat
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Cheah
authors.forename: Davide
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lomanto
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006555:Hernia, Ventral / Q000601:surgery*; D059685:Herniorrhaphy / Q000193:education / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000193:education / Q000379:methods*; D059032:Learning Curve; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D061646:Operative Time; D012189:Retrospective Studies