Incidence of Port Site Hernia after Laparoscopic Surgery: Clinical and Radiological Assessment

Abstract Background: The general trend in general surgery for the past 25 years has been the shift toward minimally-invasive al-ternatives from conventional operations. Where feasible, lapa-roscopic surgery is becoming the gold standard in the treatment of many common pathologies. The benefits of laparoscopy have been well documented, including decreased post-opera-tive pain, decreased hospital length of stay, improved cosmesis, and a quicker return to normal activity. Aim of Study: To evaluate the incidence of occurrence of port site hernia after most types of laparoscopic surgery and possible related risk factors and complications. Patients and Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted on 100 patients who underwent laparo-scopic surgeries for different causes at Souad Kafafi University Hospital, Misr University for Science and Technology during the duration between January 2023 and September 2023. The last patient to be operated on was in March 2023 to be followed up during the following six months. Results: In our current study, 75% (3 cases out of 4) of port site hernia cases had port site extension. Two cases had umbilical port extension for specimen retrieval in laparosccopic extended right hemicolecomy and laparoscopic left hemicolec-tomy. These two cases had diabetes mellitus, prolonged oper-ative time (exceeding 3 hours) and post-operative seroma at the umbilical port. One case had left iliac lateral port extension for laparoscopic appendectomy for specimen retrieval and was complicated with post-operative infection. Conclusion: Port site hernia is a rare type of incisional her-nia occurring at port sites after a laparoscopic surgery. Closure of both the fascia and the peritoneum is performed if the orig-inal incision is greater than 5mm. Risk factors leading to the occurrence of post-laparoscopic port site hernia are still under investigation but based on our findings, incidence of port site hernia was significantly associated with older age, post-opera-tive port site infection, Obese patients as identified by BMI and prolonged operative time.