Open ventral hernia repairs with Kugel patch.

OBJECTIVE To describe the initial results of open ventral hernia repair by sublay placement of the self-expanding ring polypropylene patch (Kugel patch). METHODS Twenty-four patients with ventral/incisional hernias were operated upon with this technique between December 2004 and August 2008 in the Department of General Surgery, Affiliated Zhong-Da Hospital, Southeast University, Nanjing, JiangSu Province, China. Hernia defect sizes, operative technique, operative times, postoperative complications, and recurrence were recorded. RESULTS The age range of the operated patients was 37-81 years with a mean of 67.1 +/- 10.3. The operation includes hernia of linea alba, spigelian hernia, umbilical hernia, and incisional hernia, and with defect sizes ranging from 1-18 cm (mean: 6.7+/-4.5 cm). Postoperative complications were seroma, upper respiratory infection, and mild pain. The mean operation time (estimated for hernia repair) was 118.5 +/- 42.2 minutes, and the mean postoperative hospital stay was 8.1+/-3 days (3-16 days). There was no recurrence during the follow-up time (8-54 months, median: 26 months). CONCLUSION Open repair of ventral or incisional hernias with Kugel, or modified Kugel patch by sublay technique is safe, simple, and effective with low postoperative complication rate.