Simultaneous minimally invasive repair of combined defects of the abdominal wall in children

Nowadays, minimally invasive closure of abdominal wall defects is becoming more popular and is considered an alternative to open methods of their treatment. Aim: to evaluate the effectiveness of simultaneous repair of combined abdominal wall defects in children using a minimally invasive technique. Material and methods. A retrospective analysis of laparoscopic closure of combined abdominal wall defects was conducted in 13 children (11 boys and 2 girls), using a single-port technique in 10 cases and with the insertion of an additional working port in 3 others. The duration of surgery, the occurrence of intraoperative, early and late postoperative complications were determined. Results. The average operation time was 30±3.54 min. In all patients, a multimodal anesthetic approach was used, and the treatment was performed within the day-case surgery. We did not observe any intraoperative or postoperative complications, both in the early and late postoperative period. The scar in the left lateral area is almost imperceptible, and the scar in the umbilical area seems to be a natural embryonic scar. Patients were observed for 1-2 years after surgery - no recurrence of hernias was detected. Conclusion. Minimally invasive simultaneous repair of combined abdominal wall defects in children has the following advantages: excellent visual control, the ability to assess the contralateral inguinal ring and repair its defect when detected, reduced surgical and anesthetic time, ideal cosmetic and excellent economic results. The study was performed in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. The study protocol was approved by the Local Ethics Committee for all participants. The informed consent of the patient was obtained for conducting the studies. No conflict of interests was declared by the authors.