BACKGROUND: Lumbar @entity547 are rare defects in the posterolateral abdominal wall that may be congenital or acquired. Repairing these defects is difficult by virtue of their location and the inherent weakness of the surrounding tissues. We report a series of seven @entity1 who had their @entity547 repaired laparoscopically at two institutions. STUDY DESIGN: We retrospectively reviewed all @entity547 repaired laparoscopically in our institutions within the last 16 months (August 1996 to November 1997). Postoperative followup was 1-15 months. RESULTS: Seven @entity1 underwent laparoscopic repair. Five @entity547 were acquired defects and two were congenital. One to three defects were found per @entity1 . The average size of the @entity547 defect was 77.8 cm2. We used a @entity7502 or a @entity736 mesh in all @entity1 ; the average size of the mesh used was 336.4 cm2. The average length of hospital stay was 1.7 days. One @entity1 returned with an abscess over the mesh, which necessitated removal of the graft. Otherwise, there were no complications, and the remaining six @entity1 had no recurrences after followup of 1-14 months. CONCLUSIONS: The laparoscopic approach is safe and effective for @entity547 . Advantages of this approach include excellent operative visualization, decreased hospital stay postoperatively, and a solid repair without recurrence during shortterm followup.

Laparoscopic repair of XXXX .

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patients', 'patient'] @entity736 :: ('CHEBI:53251', 'Chemical') :: ['polytetrafluoroethylene'] @entity7502 :: ('MESH:D011126', 'Chemical') :: ['polypropylene'] @entity547 :: ('MESH:D006547', 'Disease') :: ['hernia', 'hernias', 'lumbar hernias', 'repairing lumbar hernias']
@entity547 :: (MESH:D006547,Disease) :: ['lumbar hernias']
