Ventral Hernias in Cirrhotic Patients

Ventral hernias are defects of the anterior abdominal wall, which can be congenital or acquired including epigastric, umbilical and incisional hernia. Incisional ventral hernia is a frequent complication of laparotomy that occurs in up to 11 % of surgical abdominal wounds

Umbilical hernia represent a common surgical problem in cirrhotic patient with ascites with 20% incidence.Factors that play role in occurance of umbilical hernia in cirrhotic patient with ascites patients is chronic increased intra-abdominal pressure, recanalization of the left umbilical vein, muscle wasting and fascial weakening from nutritional deficiencies (3,4).

Most of interventions for umbilical herniorrhaphy in cirrhotic patients with ascites done in emergency setting due to the concept of high perioperative morbidity and mortality rates in those patients. However, this strategy leads to a high risk of life-threatening complications such as incarceration and skin rupture.