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Background: Various surgical procedures have been described in the treatment of small ventral abdominal wall hernias. Mesh repair is becoming popular because of a low recurrence rate. Aim: The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate an open intraperitoneal technique using the Bard Ventralex hernia patch in the treatment of small midline ventral hernias. Methods: 101 patients were operated on (59 male, 42 female) with a mean age of 54.5 years (range 17-85). Mean operative time was 33 min (range 16-65). The median hospital stay was 2 days (range 1-15). Results: Two patients had a hematoma without wound infection. There were 2 recurrences (2%). Mean postoperative follow-up time was 28.5 months (range 6-55). Conclusions: Our preliminary results suggest that Ventralex hernia patch repair for ventral hernias can be performed with minimal postoperative morbidity and a low recurrence rate. Copyright © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phaeochromocytoma is a rare catecholamine-secreting tumour involved in 0.1-0.2% cases of hypertension in the general population. Headache, palpitation and paroxystic sweating are the most commonly described symptoms. A few published cases report an acute adrenergic cardiomyopathy, leading to severe cardiogenic shock requiring mechanical circulatory support. We report the case of a 57-year old patient presenting a voluminous phaeochromocytoma of the left adrenal gland revealed by cardiogenic shock and rescued by peripheral extracorporeal life support device (ECLS). Left surrenalectomy has been performed under protective ECLS during the same surgical procedure. The patient was successfully weaned from ECLS on Day 7 after surgery and myocardial function completely recovered when the patient was discharged from the hospital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]