Hernia Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Hernia, including details on hiatal, inguinal, umbilical, abdominal, treatment.

Robotic repair of a Bochdalek congenital diaphragmatic hernia in a small neonate: robotic advantages and limitations.

Meehan JJ, Sandler A

Division of Pediatric Surgery, Children's Hospital of Iowa, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. john-j-meehan@uiowa.edu

Minimally invasive repair for a Bochdalek congenital diaphragmatic hernia has been performed over the last few years with mixed results. Although the anomaly has been approached from both the abdomen and the chest, the defect can be difficult to close as the posterolateral region may be difficult to reach with precise suturing using standard rigid laparoscopic instruments. The articulating instruments of robotic surgery offer a substantial improvement in degrees of freedom and may help over come these obstacles. However, other limitations including instrument length in relation to patient size need to be accounted for when planning a robotic procedure in small children. We present a robotic repair of a foramen of Bochdalek congenital diaphragmatic in a 2.2 kg neonate using and abdominal approach with the Da Vinci Surgical Robot (Intuitive Surgical, Sunnyvale, CA).

Published 9 October 2007 in J Pediatr Surg, 42(10): 1757-60.
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