Cost-benefit analysis comparing laparoscopic and open ventral hernia repair.

Objective: Laparoscopic surgery is a successful treatment option offering significant advantages to patients compared with open ventral hernia repair. A cost-benefit analysis was performed to compare the clinical results and economic costs of the open and laparoscopic techniques for anterior abdominal wall hernia repair, in order to determine the more efficient procedure.

Material And Methods: We performed a prospective study of 140 patients with primary and incisional hernia, and analyzed clinical data, morbidity, costs of surgery and hospital stay costs.

Stoppa procedure in bilateral inguinal hernia.

The Stoppa procedure is a very safe repair of bilateral inguinal hernia, but it requires a learning period to achieve optimal results. We present a study with our experience and learning curve for this technique. Two hundred and ten patients with bilateral inguinal hernia (420 hernias) were repaired with Stoppa procedure from January 1995 to December 2003 with an average age of 57.