Laparoscopic Component Separation: Troobleshooting

Angel M Caban, MD, Mark J Watson, MD. UT Southwestern, University of Florida

The Component Separation Technique for repair of complex ventral hernias has been widely used since the 1990’s. In recent years the minimally invasive approach was introduce in an attempt to minimize wound complications and improve patient recovery.
The procedure involves division of the external oblique aponeurosis to gain approximately 8-10 cm of myofascial advancement flaps. This will decrease the tension and facilitate approximation of the rectus muscle to the midline.
In this video we will describe some of the key steps to successfully perform a laparoscopic component separation, but we will center the discussion in how to recognize and troubleshoot one of the potential pitfalls of the procedure.