A hernia is a defect in the abdominal wall, in which the inside layers of the abdominal muscle have weakened resulting in a bulge or tear. In the same way that an inner tube pushes through a damaged tire, the inner lining of the abdomen pushes through the weakened area of the abdominal wall to form a small bubble or balloon-like sac. When a loop of intestine or abdominal tissue pushes into the sac, severe pain and other potentially serious complications can result.
Both men and women can get a hernia. Some hernias are present at birth (congenital), while others develop over time. A hernia does not get better over time; a hernia will not go away by itself. Hernias most commonly occur in the groin ('inguinal hernias'), around the belly button ('umbilical hernias'), and near the site of a previous surgical operation ('incisional hernias').
In laparoscopic hernia surgery, a telescope attached to a camera is inserted through a small incision that is made under the patient's belly button. Two other small cuts are made (each no larger than the diameter of pencil eraser) in the lower abdomen. The hernia defect is reinforced with a 'mesh' (synthetic material made from the same material that stitches are made from) and secured in position with stitches/staples/titanium tacks or tissue glue, depending on the preference of your individual surgeon.
Incisional, Ventral, Epigastric, or Umbilical hernias are defects of the anterior abdominal wall. They may be congenital (umbilical hernia) or acquired (incisional). Incisional hernias form after surgery through the incision site or previous drain sites, or laparoscopic trocar insertion sites. Incisional hernias are reported to occur in approximately 4-10% of patients after open surgical procedures. Certain risk factors predispose patients to develop incisional hernias, such as obesity, diabetes, respiratory insufficiency ( lung disease), steroids, wound contamination, postoperative wound infection, smoking, inherited disorders such as Marfan's syndrome and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, as well as poor surgical technique.
That is, they present with a bulge near or at a previous incision. Some patients may experience discomfort, abdominal cramping or complete intestinal obstruction, or incarceration as a result of these hernias.
The laparoscopic repair of ventral hernias was designed to minimize operative trauma to the patient. These are often complicated repairs requiring large incisions and extensive tissue dissection. A large piece of prosthetic mesh is placed under the hernia defect with a wide margin of mesh outside the defect (see figure). The mesh is anchored in to place with eight full thickness sutures and secured to the anterior abdominal wall with a varying number of tacs, placed laparoscopically.
A patient is a candidate for laparoscopic incisional hernia repair if they are medically able to undergo general anesthesia. Also, the defect must "allow" the surgeon to place the laparoscopic trocars in such positions that repair are ergonomically possible. In some very large or giant hernias, the abdominal wall is distorted to such a degree that it is impossible to safely place laparoscopic trocars
Only after a thorough examination can your surgeon determine whether laparoscopic hernia repair is right for you. The procedure may not be best for some patients who have had previous abdominal surgery or have underlying medical conditions.
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