Robotic Surgical Procedures for Ventral Hernia Repair

Area of Science:

• Minimally Invasive Surgery
• Surgical Robotics
• Abdominal Wall Reconstruction

Background:

• Robotic platforms are increasingly used for advanced minimally invasive ventral hernia repair.
• Numerous techniques and acronyms exist for robotic-assisted approaches.
• Standardization of these techniques is crucial for widespread adoption.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the four most utilized minimally invasive sublay robotic ventral hernia repair procedures.
• To provide detailed technical insights, including trocar placement, anatomical plane access, and mesh selection.
• To support descriptions with illustrations for enhanced clarity.

Main Methods:

• Detailed step-by-step descriptions of four robotic ventral hernia repair techniques: robotic Trans-Abdominal-Preperitoneal (r-TAPP), robotic Trans-Abdominal-Retromuscular-Mesh (r-TARM), robotic Extended-Totally-Extra-Peritoneal (r-E-TEP), and robotic Transversus-Abdominis-Release (RoboTAR).
• Inclusion of practical tips, tricks, and indications for each procedure.
• Explanation of flap incision, dissection, hernia sac management, and abdominal wall layer restoration.

Main Results:

• Robotic ventral hernia repair is gaining acceptance with positive postoperative outcomes.
• The paper provides a comprehensive overview of four distinct MIS sublay robotic repair methods.
• Illustrations accompany the procedural descriptions.

Conclusions:

• Robotic ventral hernia repair demonstrates promising results and wide acceptance.
• Understanding the nuances of different techniques like r-TAPP, r-TARM, r-E-TEP, and RoboTAR is essential.
• This paper serves as a guide to the most common robotic ventral hernia repair procedures.