title: The management of abdominal wall hernias - in search of consensus.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Laparoscopic repair is becoming an increasingly popular alternative in the treatment of abdominal wall hernias. In spite of numerous studies evaluating this technique, indications for laparoscopic surgery have not been established. Similarly, implant selection and fixation techniques have not been unified and are the subject of scientific discussion.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess whether there is a consensus on the management of the most common ventral abdominal wall hernias among recognised experts.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fourteen specialists representing the boards of European surgical societies were surveyed to determine their choice of surgical technique for nine typical primary ventral and incisional hernias. The access method, type of operation, mesh prosthesis and fixation method were evaluated. In addition to the laparoscopic procedures, the number of tackers and their arrangement were assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In none of the cases presented was a consensus of experts obtained. Laparoscopic and open techniques were used equally often. Especially in the group of large hernias, decisions on repair methods were characterised by high variability. The technique of laparoscopic mesh fixation was a subject of great variability in terms of both method selection and the numbers of tackers and sutures used.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Recognised experts have not reached a consensus on the management of abdominal wall hernias. Our survey results indicate the need for further research and the inclusion of large cohorts of patients in the dedicated registries to evaluate the results of different surgical methods, which would help in the development of treatment algorithms for surgical education in the future.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Ceynowa Hospital, Wejherowo, Poland.
authors.forename: Maciej
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pawlak
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiac and Vascular Surgery, Medical University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland.
authors.forename: Kamil
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bury
authors.affiliation: II Department of Radiology, Medical University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland.
authors.forename: Maciej
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Śmietański
keywords: abdominal wall hernia; consensus; experts opinion; laparoscopic ventral hernia repair