Signs and landmarks in eTEP Rives-Stoppa repair of ventral hernias

After years of playing second-fiddle to laparoscopic underlay repairs, the retro-muscular Rives-Stoppa repair is rapidly gaining popularity thanks to the endoscopic eTEP approach. It extends all the advantages of a retro-muscular mesh placement-increased tolerance for infection, mechanical robustness, reduced need for mesh fixation-in an ergonomically acceptable system.

The eTEP technique described by Belyansky's group requires a "crossover" from one retro-rectus space to the other. The aim of the crossover is to safely amalgamate the retro-rectus spaces for placement of a large extra-peritoneal prosthesis. By salvaging peritoneum in the midline and operating in the extra-peritoneal plane, one can avoid large defects in the posterior rectus sheath (PRS)-peritoneum complex which need closure. Correct identification of anatomical landmarks is imperative to safely perform the surgery.

The "lamppost sign" signals the lateral limit of retro-rectus dissection, preventing iatrogenic injury to the neurovascular bundles and linea semilunaris. After crossover has been safely achieved, the medial edges of the divided posterior rectus sheaths are found connected to each other by a strip of pre-peritoneal fat and peritoneum in the midline. These structures, along with the neck of hernia constitute the "volcano sign". For inferior defects, the vas deferens, the inferior epigastric and gonadal vessels form a triradiate conformation termed the "Mercedes-Benz sign".

These signs serve as tools to identify the composition of the surgical field, avoiding iatrogenic injury to the linea alba and linea semilunaris, while reducing the time taken for posterior closure.