Patients who undergo longitudinal sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) may develop de novo or worsening of existing gastroesophageal reflux (GERD) symptoms, which include postprandial retrosternal burning, food refluxing, or dysphagia. Often patients with GERD following LSG present with a concomitant hiatal hernia. Workup serves to characterize a patient’s GERD disease burden by way of fluoroscopic upper gastrointestinal (UGI) series, pH studies, manometry, or esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). Treatment first involves medical management with lifestyle modifications followed by use of pump inhibitors (PPIs) or Histamine H2-receptor antagonists (H2 Blockers or H2B). If GERD symptoms remain intractable to medical management, surgical intervention can be pursued.
Historically patients would undergo a conversion to a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). New data demonstrate comparable outcomes regarding GERD symptoms and improvements in anti-reflux medication use in patients status-post LSG who undergo ligamentum teres cardiopexy with hiatal hernia repair. This article describes a robotic ligamentum teres cardiopexy with hiatal hernia repair in an adult patient who previously underwent LSG and was experiencing intractable GERD symptoms despite lifestyle modification and optimization on anti-reflux medications.
Intraperitoneal Mesh Repair for Incisional Hernia William B. Hogan1; Yoko Young Sang, MD2; Shabir S. Abadin, MD, MPH3 1Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University 2Louisiana State University Shreveport 3World Surgical Foundation
Incisional hernias remain an important postoperative complication of any procedure involving a laparotomy incision. Although most incisional hernias remain asymptomatic, incarceration and strangulation are emergent complications requiring prompt diagnosis and intervention. Mesh repair has become widely favored over simple suture repair of abdominal fascial defects in recent decades, though recurrence of incisional hernias remains high. Despite the advent of laparoscopic approaches to hernia repair, open approaches are utilized when numerous adhesions are encountered, laparoscopic access is unsafe, or when laparoscopy is not readily available. We present an open surgical repair of a large incisional hernia involving the abdominal midline and parastomal site in a woman with a history of laparotomy and colostomy with a subsequent reversal for a perforated colon.
A left lower quadrant partial-thickness Spigelian-type incisional hernia resulting from wound complications after deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap harvest is repaired in a minimally-invasive, robotic-assisted, transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) fashion. Utilizing robotic assistance, a large preperitoneal flap is created, fascial closure is achieved using barbed suture, and the hernia defect is reinforced widely with medium-weight polypropylene mesh. In this patient, this approach also allows for areas that had previously had mesh placed to be avoided, and for repair of a fat-containing indirect left inguinal hernia. Similar approaches can address primary or lateral incisional hernias. This patient had an uncomplicated postoperative course without early wound morbidity.
Surgical instrument tables are considered as basic furniture for the operating room (OR). The largest table, typically rectangular or “L”-shaped, serves as a central hub for arranging and storing sterile supplies until needed during surgical procedures. The Mayo stand is an extension of the large table. It is small, height-adjustable, and intended to hang over the operating table and hold instruments and other sterile items for immediate use and within easy reach for the scrub nurse. Both the large table and the smaller Mayo stand are often referred to as back tables.
The specific equipment and arrangement of the back table may vary depending on the type of surgery and the surgeon’s preferences. This video provides a detailed, step-by-step guide to the back table setup for an open umbilical hernia repair surgery. It covers the preparation of the surgical field, the handling of sterile supplies, and the organization of the surgical tray. Additionally, it discusses the importance of adhering to sterile technique and the surgeon’s preferences during the procedure.
Barbed suture is an increasingly popular type of suture used by surgeons across the world. It is an efficient suture that provides several benefits, including better distributed tensile strength, reduced surrounding inflammatory reaction and local tissue hypoxia, and less foreign body exposure. However, there have been a handful of cases of complications with barbed sutures over the past few decades.
This is the case of a patient who initially underwent an uncomplicated robotic transabdominal preperitoneal ventral hernia repair (rTAPP) and re-presented postoperative day two with a small bowel obstruction. This video shows the operative findings from the return to the operating room with the identification of a barbed suture that had become caught in the mesentery, causing kinking of the bowel.
A hiatal hernia occurs when part of an intra-abdominal organ, most commonly the stomach, migrates through the diaphragmatic crura. The condition can cause a range of uncomfortable symptoms, including heartburn, chest pain, and difficulty swallowing. While several individuals with a hiatal hernia can manage their symptoms with lifestyle changes and anti-reflux medications, some with refractory symptoms or complications secondary to the hernia require surgical treatment to repair the defect.
Here we present the case of a 60-year-old female with a paraoesophageal hiatal hernia and chronic gastrointestinal reflux disease (GERD) refractory to proton-pump inhibitors (PPI), dietary changes, and lifestyle modifications. She underwent an elective robotic hiatal hernia repair, fundoplication, and esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) as a two-hour procedure with routine postprocedure recovery. This article and the associated video describe the pertinent history, evaluation, and operative steps of the procedure.
There are over 1 million hernia repairs performed annually in the US, and robotics is revolutionizing the adoption of minimally-invasive hernia repairs. From 2015 to 2018, robotic laparoscopic hernia repairs have explosively grown from less than 2% to 20% of all hernia repairs performed in the US.
Hernia repairs are among the most basic procedures for general surgeons, and there is substantial enthusiasm on the part of surgeons regarding the rapid changes in techniques as well as the best methods of teaching them. Surgical training programs may find it difficult to maintain training for their residents and fellows in the face of rapidly evolving technology. Here, Dr. Lourié presents the case of a 28-year-old male with bilateral inguinal hernias that were repaired using a robotic-assisted laparoscopic approach.
Lauren Ott, PA-C Mass General Brigham – Newton-Wellesley Hospital Boston Hernia and Pilonidal Center Tufts University School of Medicine
In this article, Dr. Michael Reinhorn shows the case of a 51-year-old male who presented with left groin pain and a bulge in the area, worsened while straining or after a long day of physical activity. The patient underwent a mesh-free hernia repair performed via the four-layer Shouldice technique as a 50-minute ambulatory/day-surgery procedure. This article and the associated video describe the pertinent history, evaluation, and operative steps of the procedure.
In this case, Dr. Rockson Liu with Epic Care at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center performs a robotic eTEP retrorectus Rives-Stoppa repair of an upper midline primary ventral hernia that was partially reducible but mostly incarcerated, and greater than 6 cm in a 63-year-old female. Robotic ports were placed directly into the retrorectus space. Using the crossover technique, the retrorectus spaces were combined with a preperitoneal bridge of the peritoneum. The defects were closed robotically, and a medium-weight, macroporous polypropylene mesh was placed within the retrorectus space.
Rockson C. Liu, MD, FACS General Surgery, Epic Care, Alta Bates Summit Medical Center
In this case, Dr. Rockson Liu performs a robotic eTEP retrorectus Rives-Stoppa repair of an upper midline primary ventral hernia that was partially reducible but mostly incarcerated, and greater than 6 cm in a 63-year-old female. Robotic ports were placed directly into the retrorectus space. Using the crossover technique, the retrorectus spaces were combined with a preperitoneal bridge of the peritoneum. The defects were closed robotically, and a medium-weight, macroporous polypropylene mesh was placed within the retrorectus space.
