Minimally invasive repair for lateral ventral hernia: tailored approach from a hernia centre at a tertiary care institution.

INTRODUCTION: Lateral ventral hernia (LVH) is rare and can be primary or secondary. Surgical treatment of this rare hernia type is challenging due the anatomic location and technical challenges in placement and secure anchoring of mesh. METHOD: Patient demographic data, intra-operative data and post-operative outcomes on all LVH repairs performed with endo-laparoscopic and robotic approach between 2016 to 2018 were reviewed and analysed. RESULTS: 22 LVH were repaired in 21 patients. 9 had primary hernia and 13 had secondary hernia. All patients underwent minimally invasive surgery (MIS) for hernia repair with no conversion to open surgery. Fascial defect closure and placement of mesh were performed in all cases. Different approaches were utilized: 9 hernia repaired with laparoscopic intra-peritoneal on-lay mesh technique with defect closure (IPOM +), 4 had laparoscopic trans-abdominal pre-peritoneal repair (TAPP), another 4 had extended totally extra-peritoneal repair (eTEP), 3 had robotic TAPP (rTAPP) and 2 repaired with trans-abdominal partial extra-peritoneal (TAPE) approach. 4 (19%) of the patients developed post-operative seroma which were managed conservatively. No other significant complication was noted, and no chronic pain or recurrence reported within a minimum follow-up of 12 months. CONCLUSION: This case series gives a broad outline of possible MIS options available for LVH repair and recommendations for a tailored approach. The surgical technique needs to be individualized according to the size and anatomic location of the defect, other intra-operative findings and patient characteristics.

Effect of direct defect closure during laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair ("TEP/TAPP plus" technique) on post-operative outcomes.

PURPOSE: Seroma formation and recurrence in large inguinal hernia still remain an important clinical complication despite decades since the advent of mesh repair. METHODS: In our prospective comparative analysis, we want to evaluate the effect of direct hernia defect closure on surgical outcomes in patients undergoing laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair in two tertiary care institutions in Singapore. The direct hernia defects were closed with non-absorbable sutures incorporating the pseudosac. RESULTS: A group of 241 patients underwent laparoscopic inguinal hernia mesh repair for a total of 378 direct defects from April 2014 to July 2018. Of these patients, 98 (40.6%) patients underwent hernia repair without closure of their direct defect while 143 (59.4%) patients underwent direct defect closure. No significant differences were observed between the two patient populations' demographic information and the mean operative time. A total of 219 direct defects were closed and 159 direct defects were not repaired. Compared to the group that did not undergo direct defect closure, the group that had closure of the direct defects demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in recurrence (4.4% versus 0.9%, p = 0.036) and seroma formation (12.6% versus 6.4%, p = 0.045). CONCLUSION: Direct defect closure has proven to be effective in reducing recurrence and seroma formation post-operatively in patients undergoing laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair. Randomized controlled trials will be required to further evaluate these outcomes.

Experimental evidence on promotion of electric and improved biomass cookstoves.

Improved cookstoves (ICS) can deliver "triple wins" by improving household health, local environments, and global climate. Yet their potential is in doubt because of low and slow diffusion, likely because of constraints imposed by differences in culture, geography, institutions, and missing markets. We offer insights about this challenge based on a multiyear, multiphase study with nearly 1,000 households in the Indian Himalayas. In phase I, we combined desk reviews, simulations, and focus groups to diagnose barriers to ICS adoption. In phase II, we implemented a set of pilots to simulate a mature market and designed an intervention that upgraded the supply chain (combining marketing and home delivery), provided rebates and financing to lower income and liquidity constraints, and allowed households a choice among ICS. In phase III, we used findings from these pilots to implement a field experiment to rigorously test whether this combination of upgraded supply and demand promotion stimulates adoption. The experiment showed that, compared with zero purchase in control villages, over half of intervention households bought an ICS, although demand was highly price-sensitive. Demand was at least twice as high for electric stoves relative to biomass ICS. Even among households that received a negligible price discount, the upgraded supply chain alone induced a 28 percentage-point increase in ICS ownership. Although the bundled intervention is resource-intensive, the full costs are lower than the social benefits of ICS promotion. Our findings suggest that market analysis, robust supply chains, and price discounts are critical for ICS diffusion.