Emergent laparoscopic repair of incarcerated incisional and ventral hernia

Background: The role of laparoscopy in the repair of incarcerated incisional or ventral hernia is not yet established. This presentation reviews the authors' experience with patients who underwent laparoscopic surgery in presence of incarceration. Methods: Patients who had surgery during the years 1997 to 2001 were included in the study. All patients underwent surgery immediately after their admission. In all cases, Gore-Tex Dual Mesh was used. Results: The review included 25 patients (21 women and 4 men). Ten of these patients (40%) had undergone at least one earlier repair, and one patient (4%) underwent conversion to open repair because of small bowel injury. The mean operation time was 63 min (range, 15-20 min). The median postoperative hospital stay was 3.2 days (range, 2-7 days). There were no noteworthy postoperative complications. During the follow-up period, no patient experienced recurrent hernia. Conclusions: The authors' current has experience demonstrated that laparoscopic repair is feasible and can be attempted for patients presenting with incarcerated incisional or ventral hernia.