Risk of developing abdominal wall hernia after the gallbladder surgery.
Performing any abdominal surgery has the risk of developing abdominal wall hernia, called incisional hernia. The incisional hernia has many underlying reasons and could be associated with many factors, including technical issues, post-operative wound infection, obesity, Smoking, lung disease associated with cough, steroid usage, and age. Obviously in the open surgery, where the abdominal muscle would be incised the risk of developing an abdominal wall hernia is much higher than minimally invasive surgery where the operation is performed with the guidance of camera and special instruments through the multiple small incisions.
Laparoscopic gallbladder removal.
The possibility of developing abdominal wall hernia after laparoscopic gallbladder removal is very low. However, there are some reports of increasing risk of umbilical hernia after the single incision robotic assisted gallbladder surgery. In this technique the gall bladder is removed via one single incision, buried in the umbilicus around 2.5 cm to allow all robotic instruments to go through the abdominal cavity. This incision is slightly larger than the size of incisions that are created during the conventional laparoscopic technique and could be the responsible factor for higher risk of incisional hernia. However, with diligent closer of this incision the risk of post-operative hernia could be reduced in the single incision robotic assisted gallbladder removal.
For more information or to make an appointment, contact Dr Iraniha Hernia Specialist at (949) 646-8444
