Laparoscopic omental patch repair for perforated duodenal ulcer

A retrospective review was carried out on 33 consecutive patients with omen tal patch repair for perforated duodenal ulcer; 13 had laparoscopic repair, and 20 had open repair, Laparoscopic repair was successful in 12 patients, with only one postoperative complication (8%). The morbidity rate for open repair was 15 per cent (3 of 20), and there was one postoperative death in the open group (5%). Overall, it did not take longer to perform the operat ion laparoscopically than the open method. Patients in the laparoscopic gro up required less postoperative analgesia (mean doses, 0.2 os 0.9; P = 0.02) . There was no difference in terms of hospital stay and resumption of diet after operation between the two groups. Laparoscopic omental patch repair o ffers a safe alternative to the open method in the treatment of perforated duodenal ulcer.