INCISIONAL BOWEL HERNIATIONS AFTER OPERATIVE LAPAROSCOPY - A SERIES OF 19 CASES AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this report were (1) to identify all cas es of incisional bowel herniations noted after operative laparoscopy i n 11 participating institutions and (2) to report the clinical details of such patients. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective case review was perfo rmed. RESULTS: Nineteen cases of incisional bowel herniation were iden tified. The average age of the patients was 50.5 years. Initial laparo scopic procedures varied and included laparoscopically assisted vagina l hysterectomy (six patients), laparoscopically assisted vaginal hyste rectomy with lymphadenectomy (five patients), oophorectomy (two patien ts), adhesiolysis (two patients), myomectomy (two patients), lymphaden ectomy alone (one patient), and ovarian cystectomy (one patient). The average time to reoperation was 8.5 days. CONCLUSIONS: Incisional bowe l herniation is a serious complication of operative laparoscopy, Herni ations occur through ports greater than or equal to 10 mm in size at b oth umbilical and extraumbilical sites, New techniques are needed to a void this serious complication.