Laparoscopic repair of perforated duodenal ulcers: the"three-stitch" Graham patch technique.

BACKGROUND

"Three-stitch" laparoscopic Graham patch repair (LGPR) for perforated duodenal ulcer enjoyed the same advantage as open Graham patch repair. However, it was not a popular approach because it had problems of suture entanglement and difficult laparoscopic suturing and knotting. The authors describe their technique and results.

METHODS

A prospective series from January 2000 to September 2004 was examined. In this study, 35 LGPRs were performed for 32 males and 3 females with a median age of 47 years (range, 18-76 years).

RESULTS

No conversion occurred for any of the 35 LGPRs attempted. The median perforation size was 5 mm (3-10 mm), and the median operative time was 86 min (range, 55-163 min). The median time for ambulation was day 2, and the median time for discharge was day 4. Morbidity was 11%, involving one chest infection, one retention of urine, one pelvic collection, and one pyloric stenosis. There was no reoperation, leakage, or mortality.

CONCLUSION

The authors' LGPR technique was safe and efficient, and might be the choice for laparoscopic repair of relatively large perforations.