Robotic Incisional Hernia Repair with Mesh after Open Cholecystectomy

Roberto E. Bustos, MD; Gabriela M. Aguiluz, MD; Valentina Valle, MD; Alberto Mangano, MD; Mario Masrur, MD, FACS

Product Details
Product ID: ACS-5811
Year Produced: 2019
Length: 7 min.


Open Cholecystectomy has become less common after the advent of the current gold standard treatment: Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy. Nevertheless, we can still encounter incisional hernias after the traditional approach many years later. 64-year-old female. PSH: open cholecystectomy (4 years ago) and open gastric bypass. HPI: symptomatic incisional hernia in the previous subcostal incision area. A robotic approach was proposed to repair the incisional hernia. A robot-assisted laparoscopic incisional hernia repair with mesh was performed. An extensive adhesiolysis, hernia reduction, and mesh placement were carried out. Operative time: 168 min. The right colon was part of the hernia content and it was attached to the abdominal wall. The colon-abdominal wall adhesions were carefully dissected. Some deserosation occurred, which was repaired by interrupted stitches. A Phasix mesh was chosen to cover the defect. Running sutures of 2-0 PDS were used in the caudal aspect of the mesh and interrupted stitches were applied for the cephalad aspect, fixing the mesh to the diaphragm in that area. History of multiple previous abdominal surgeries may be a contraindication for the laparoscopic approach. This is true in particular for surgeons in the first phase of their learning curve. The capabilities of the robotic platform may be helpful to overcome this hurdle. But further studies are needed to support this hypothesis. In the laparoscopic approach, mesh fixation may be challenging when suturing is needed in the diaphragm area. The robotic platform can help in this task.