Laparoscopic Repair of Incisional Hernia Following Liver Transplantation—Early Experience of a Single Institution in Taiwan

Background Ventral incisional hernia (VIH) is not uncommon following liver transplantation. Open repair was traditionally adopted for its management. Laparoscopic repair of VIH has been performed successfully in nontransplant patients with evidence of reduced recurrence rates and hospital stay. However, the application of VIH in post-transplantation patients has not been well established. Herein, we provide our initial experience with laparoscopic repair of post-transplantation VIH. Methods From March 2015 to March 2016, 18 cases of post-transplantation VIH were subjected to laparoscopic repair (laparoscopy group). A historical control group of 17 patients who underwent conventional open repair (open group) from January 2013 to January 2015 were identified for comparison. The demographics and clinical outcomes were retrospectively compared. Results There were no significant differences among basic demographics between the 2 groups. No conversion was recorded in the laparoscopy group. Recurrence of VIH up to the end of the study period was not noted. In the laparoscopy group, the minor complications were lower (16.7% vs 52.9%; P =.035), the length of hospital stay was shorter (3 d vs 7 d, P =.007), but the median operative time was longer (137.5 min vs 106 min; P =.003). Conclusions Laparoscopic repair of post-transplantation VIH is a safe and feasible procedure with shorter length of hospital stay.