Laparoscopy is increasingly employed in the surgical treatment of incarcerated ventral hernias.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the effectiveness and safety of contemporary laparoscopic techniques for this condition.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
From 2017 to 2020, 182 patients with incarcerated ventral hernias underwent surgery using laparoscopic access at the A.K. Yeramishantsev City Clinical Hospital, Moscow. Among them, 102 patients (56%) had incarcerated inguinal hernias, 50 (28%) had primary midline hernias (PMH), and 30 (17%) had postoperative midline ventral hernias (POVH). A unique laparoscopic methodology followed by transabdominal preperitoneal mesh repair was performed on 102 patients with incarcerated inguinal hernias. Additionally, 50 patients with incarcerated primary epigastric (M1) and umbilical (M2) midline hernias underwent intraperitoneal onlay mesh (IPOM+) and transabdominal retromuscular mesh repair (TARR+). Fifteen patients with PMVH (M1-5; W1-W2) underwent transversus abdominis release retromuscular mesh repair. In the remaining cases (15 patients with incarcerated spigelian hernias, M1-M5, W1), IPOM+ was performed using mesh implants with anti-adhesive coating and clips.
RESULTS
Intraoperative complications were absent. Three patients with incarcerated inguinal hernias and three with POVH experienced postoperative fluid collection necessitating ultrasonography-guided drainage. One patient with PMH developed a postoperative hematoma that did not require surgical intervention. No infectious complications or fatalities occurred. The average hospital stay was 2±1.2 days for incarcerated inguinal hernias (5.0±1.6 with complications), 3±1.8 days for PMH, and 4.1±1.8 days for POVH (5.0±1.7 with complications).
CONCLUSIONS
Employing laparoscopic reconstructive mesh techniques in patients with uncomplicated incarcerated ventral hernias demonstrates effectiveness and is associated with a low frequency of postoperative complications.