Journal of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan 2012, Vol. 22 (11): 683-685 683 INTRODUCTION Abdominal wall hernias are a common challenge for all surgeons. Repair of the ventral hernia remains a common operation performed by general surgeons now a days. 1 The incidence of ventral hernia ranges from 10 to 50%. 2 A number of risk factors are said to be responsible for ventral hernia formation which include previous surgery, radiation therapy, collagen disorders and syndrome of metastatic emphysema. 3 Repair of the ventral hernia is required to relieve the symptoms, and to prevent incarceration. 5 The surgeons continue to debate about the ways in which to repair these abdominal wall defects. Minimally invasive techniques have changed the approach to ventral hernia repair with low infection rate, less postoperative pain, and lower rate of recurrence. 4 The laparoscopic ventral hernia repair has significant reduction in wound complications and mesh infection. This approach is also associated with shorter hospital stay, faster time of recovery and lower rate of recurrence, compared to open hernia repair, as described in literature. 9 The purpose of this study was to determine the outcome of patients after laparoscopic ventral hernia repair, in terms of wound complications, including haematoma and wound infection, and follow-up in terms of suture site pain and recurrence of hernia. METHODOLOGY This was an observational study, and data was collected retrospectively in Dubai Hospital, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. All adult patients who underwent laparoscopic ventral hernia repair from January 2007 to June 2011 were included in the study. The patients who could not afford to pay for proceed mesh, and underwent open hernia repair, were excluded. All patients received prophylactic antibiotics at the time of surgery. Standard operative technique was used for the repair of hernia. A dual proceed mesh was used for the repair of the hernia which overlap the defect about 4 – 5 cm. The size of the mesh was selected according to the size of the defect. The mesh was secured to the abdominal wall by transfixating sutures and additional tacks were applied at 1 cm distance. The follow-up of these patients was completed till December 2011. ORIGINAL ARTICLE Laparoscopic Repair of Ventral Hernia Dildar Hussain 1 , Shahid Latif Sarfraz 3 , Jamil Ahmad Kasmani 1 , Kallianpur Suresh Baliga 1 , Mumtaz Ibrahim 1 , Husain Shah Syed 2 , Zaid Abdel Aziz 1 and Rolf Ulrich Hartung 1 ABSTRACT Objective: To determine the outcome of patients in terms of wound complications and follow-up, after laparoscopic ventral hernia repair. Study Design: A case series study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Surgery, Dubai Hospital, Dubai, from January 2007 to December 2011. Methodology: All patients above 13 years of age, who underwent laparoscopic ventral hernia repair, were included. A proceed dual mesh was used for repair of hernia. Multiple parameters were analyzed, including demographic features, presentations, co-morbid conditions, duration of hernia, and defect size. The duration of surgery, postoperative complications, and follow-up of these patients in terms of suture site pain and recurrence of hernia were also analyzed. The data was expressed as frequency, percentages and mean ± standard deviation of values. Results: There were 27 patients with mean age of 47 ± 10.3 years, including 20 female (74.07%) and 7 male (25.95%) patients. All patients presented with abdominal wall swelling. The hernia was partially reducible in 12 patients (44.44%), and completely reducible in 15 patients (55.55%). Seven patients (25.95%) had hypertension, 4 (14.81%) had ischaemic heart disease, and 4 (14.81%) had obesity as co-morbid conditions. All patients underwent laparoscopic hernia repair with proceed dual mesh. The mean defect size of the hernia was 6 cm, and mean duration of surgery was 94 minutes. Early postoperative complications included, seroma in 3 patients (11.11%), and haematoma in one patient (3.70%). The mean follow-up was 23 months. Four patients (14.81) had pain at suture site. Conclusion: Laparoscopic repair is an appropriate approach for ventral hernia repair. It results in good repair and low wound complications in terms of haematoma and wound infection. There was no recurrence of hernia in this study. Key words: Ventral hernia. Laparoscopic repair. Outcome. 1 Department of General Surgery / Emergency Medicine 2 , Dubai Hospital, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. 3 Department of General Surgery, Rashid Hospital, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Correspondence: Dr. Dildar Hussain, Department of Surgery, Dubai Hospital, Dubai, P.O. Box. 7272, United Arab Emirates. E-mail: docdildar@yahoo.com Received December 07, 2011; accepted September 07, 2012.