Laparoscopic versus open repair of para-umbilical hernia. Is it a good alternative?

Objective: to compare the experience of laparoscopic repair of para-umbilical hernia with conventional open repair in terms of operative time,pre- and post-operative complications,total hospital stay,post-operative pain,morbidity,mortality and cosmesis. methods: the prospective,randomized study was conducted at liaquat university of medical and health sciences,jamshoro,pakistan,and two private hospitals from june 2011 to june 2013,and comprised patients who were admitted with para-umbilical hernias of different sizes during the study period. the patients were divided into two groups. group a underwent laparoscopic surgery,while group b had conventional mesh repair. variables studied included duration of surgery,operative and post-operative complications,morbidity and mortality. spss 20 was used for statistical analysis. results: of the 337 patients in the study,200(59.34%) were at the liaquat university hospital,while remaining 137(40.65%) patients were operated in two private hospitals. the overall mean age of the study sample was 42.18±9.789 years (range: 23-73). there were 68(20.18%) males and 269(79.82%) females. there were 166(49.26%) patients in group a and 171(50.74%) group b. the operative time was comparatively longer in group a (p<0.001) especially in the first 30 operations. the laparoscopic approach was associated with a comparatively low incidence of operative and post-operative complications,reduced duration of hospital stay and cosmetically better results (p<0.05). there was no mortality in this series. conclusion: laparoscopic para-umbilical hernia repair,though a new technique,gave promising results compared to open conventional technique. however,there is a long way to go before coming to a consensus. © 2015,pakistan medical association. all rights reserved.