Optimal Technique for Abdominal Fascial Closure in Liver Transplant Patients
Accepted 30 September 2009.
Background
The ideal technique for abdominal closure of a Mercedes-type incision, which is still a serious issue among surgeons, has yet to be demonstrated clearly. The purpose of this study was to explain our novel technique for abdominal fascial closure in liver transplant patients.
Methods
We analyzed retrospectively 180 consecutive adult-to-adult right lobe living donor liver transplants. The patients were divided into two groups based on two abdominal closure types used. Group A consisted of 78 patients who were submitted to abdominal closure with our new technique using three synthetic absorbable loop suture materials, and group B consisted of 102 patients whose abdominal closure was performed with another type of closure technique.
Results
There were no significant differences between the demographic characteristics of the two groups. The mean closure time was significantly lower in group A than in group B (p <0.05). The incidence rates of ascites leakage and hernias were also significantly lower in group A (p <0.05).
Conclusion
Our results indicate that the novel technique used in this study contributed to overcoming early and late postoperative complications associated with closure of the abdominal fascia in liver transplant patients. In addition, this new technique has proven to be easily applicable, faster, safer and efficient in these patients; it is also potentially useful for conventional surgery.
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aDepartment of General Surgery, Gaziantep University School of Medicine, Gaziantep, Turkey
Organ Transplantation and Research Centre, Ege University School of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr Unal Aydin, Department of General Surgery, Gaziantep University School of Medicine, Gaziantep 27080, Turkey
ABSTRACT