[Laparoscopic repair of abdominal wall hernias]

Repair of abdominal wall defects is a challenge for all general surgeons and a variety of methods have been described in the past. Traditionally, primary suture repair was shown to have a high recurrence rate in long-term follow-up studies. Herniorrhaphies that apply a large prosthetic mesh are appear to have a lower failure rate, but extensive dissection of soft tissue contributes to an increased incidence of wound infections and wound-related complications. The method of laparoscopic incisional hernia repair was developed in the early 1990s. This technique is based on the same physical and surgical principles as the open underlay procedure. The laparoscopic intraperitoneal onlay mesh (IPOM) technique and mesh materials were developed further in subsequent years, and there have been numerous reports on successful use of the IPOM technique even for extremely large hernia openings in obese and elderly patients. Reduced surgical trauma and lower infection and recurrence rates are key advantages of the minimally invasive repair. Therefore, this operation has increased in popularity promising shorter hospital stay, improved outcome, and fewer complications than traditional open procedures.