60 year old male with wide ventral abdominal hernia. Would abdominoplasty or mesh hernia repair using a robot be best? (Photo)

Question

After several years of weight lifting (body pump classes) I made a mild diastatis recti a lot worse. A 5/02/14 ct scan shows a wide ventral abdominal hernia, (8cm in AP diameter and 19 cm in the CC dimension) small bowel and transverse colon entered, but is not compromised. Also a small fat containing right inguinal hernia and a small umbilical hernia. Surgeons that have reviewed the CT scan told me the fascia is in tact.

Christian A. Prada, MD, FACS · Answer

If you have that large of an abdominal wall hernia I would suggest you work with your General Surgeon to see what would be the best treatment option for you.  I doubt you would need an Abdominoplasty unless you suffer from lax skin as well.  If your Gen Surgeon feels your hernias can be repaired laparoscopically, then that would be the approach I would use.  If this is not a true hernia, but a DR, then an abdominoplasty would help fix the lax muscles.  Mesh could be used or not used as an adjunct.

John Renucci, MD, FACS · Answer

Hernias are repaired by general surgeons, plastic surgeons and sometimes a combination of both.  There are many variables including the comfort level of your plastic surgeon and the extent of your hernia.  Depending on the quality of your fascia, you may or may not require a foreign material like mesh.  Im not sure what the benefits of robotic surgery would be for you on your ventral hernia as direct approximation of your fascia will be ideal.  This typically requires direct visualization of your facia and release of the overlying skin.  Robotic repair of your inguinal hernia is another story as these are commonly repaired laparoscopically with or without a robot.Meet with a plastic surgeon in your area, he/she may recommend having your hernia repaired first, then deal with your excess skin.  Sometimes, your plastic surgeon and general surgeon will work together in your surgery to meet your goals.  It's difficult to make a judgement based on your photos, but it's not clear to me that you need an abdominoplasty. good luck

Gary Lawton, MD, FACS · Answer

This ventral hernia should be repaired by a general surgeon.  The technique that they use would be determined based on their criteria.

Andrew Kornstein, MD, FACS · Answer

I can give you my opinion, if it were me, I would want a well chosen surgeon to do this.An experienced eye and hand are the cornerstone of a good outcome.Depending on your personal history of weight gain and loss,  history of smoking or other disease or health related issues, I would visually and tactally inspect the quality of the fascia during surgery but have a low threshold for using SERI.This can be done through a limited "mini tummy tuck" incisionBest of luck

60 year old male with wide ventral abdominal hernia. Would abdominoplasty or mesh hernia repair using a robot be best? (Photo)

Answers (4)

Answer: Ventral hernia-- man or machine?

Answer: Ventral hernia-- man or machine?

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60 year old male with wide ventral abdominal hernia. Would abdominoplasty or mesh hernia repair using a robot be best? (Photo)

Answers (4)

Answer: Ventral hernia-- man or machine?

Answer: Ventral hernia-- man or machine?

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Recommended reading

Everything you need to know about Male Tummy Tuck

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.