Long-term outcome of cruroplasty reinforcement with human acellular dermal matrix in large paraesophageal hiatal hernia

Laparoscopic repair of a large hiatal hernia using simple sutures only for the cruroplasty is associated with a high recurrence rate. The solution was to place synthetic mesh over the cruroplasty thereby decreasing recurrence rates in exchange for complications, such as gastric and esophageal erosions. Our initial report investigated the use of human acellular dermal matrix (AlloDerm) as a more suitable alternative. This study highlights our long-term results > 1 year of cruroplasty reinforcement with AlloDerm in the repair of large hiatal hernias. This is a retrospective study performed at our university. Between 2005 and 2006, 52 consecutive patients with large hiatal hernias had the cruroplasty site reinforced with AlloDerm. The variables analyzed were age, sex, weight, height, hiatal hernia size, operative time, length of hospital stay, follow-up, and postoperative complications. The mean for age was 56.7 years, for weight was 87.9 kg, for height 117 cm, for hernia size was 5.75 cm, operative time was 121 min, and for hospital stay was 1.36 days. Complication included pneumothorax, 3 (5.5%); atelectasis, 1 (1.9%); urinary retention, 1 (1.9%); and recurrence, 2 (3.8%). Laparoscopic hiatal hernia repair with reinforcement using human acellular dermal matrix can be performed safely with a short hospital stay and low rate of complications, especially a low rate of recurrence.