Is the frequency of simultaneous umbilical hernia repairs in laparoscopic and open cholecystectomy similar?

The aim of this study was to compare the frequency of umbilical hernia repair during open and laparoscopic cholecystectomies. Consecutive patients who underwent laparoscopic and open cholecystectomy between January 1993 and June 2005 were retrospectively reviewed. Among those, cases of patients who underwent simultaneous cholecystectomy and umbilical hernia repair were included in the study, and the distribution of hernia repairs via laparoscopic and open cholecystectomy were investigated. In addition, patients who underwent umbilical hernia repair only during the study period were also screened and the type of repair was noted in order to be compared to the types of hernia repair in the patients who underwent cholecystectomy. In total, there were 3,028 patients who underwent cholecystectomy, out of which 2,281 were performed via laparoscopy. In total, 46 patients underwent cholecystectomy and simultaneous umbilical hernia repair; 44 underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy and umbilical hernia repair at the same time (P < 0.001), out of which only 2 were repaired through the use of a mesh. In contrast, 284 patients underwent only umbilical hernia repair, out of which 156 underwent primary repair. Simultaneous umbilical hernia repair during laparoscopic cholecystectomy was more common than hernia repair during open cholecystectomy.