Hernia

BACKGROUND: The hernia defects that develop in liver transplant recipients tend to be complex. Unfortunately, there is a paucity of data to guide post-transplant hernia management. Our goal was to evaluate the outcomes following laparoscopic ventral hernia repair (LVHR) in liver transplant recipients. METHODS: A retrospective review of a prospectively kept database of liver transplant patients at a single tertiary healthcare facility was completed. All patients between 2007 and 2020 who underwent LVHR for a hernia at their transplant incision site were included...

STUDY DESIGN: A randomized, controlled, prospective multicenter clinical trial with a parallel group design was initiated in eight surgical centers to compare a large-pore polypropylene mesh (Ultrapro® ) to a small-pore polypropylene mesh (Premilene® ) within a standardized retromuscular meshplasty for incisional hernia repair. METHODS: Between 2004 and 2006, patients with a fascial defect with a minimum diameter of 4 cm after vertical midline laparotomy were recruited for the trial...

PURPOSE: Complications of incisional hernia are amongst the commonest presentations to the emergency surgical take. Outcomes from emergency hernia repair are poor, particularly for those with complex defects and for the growing population of comorbid, high-risk patients. Attempts to avoid emergency surgery by improving success rates of non-operative management could prove hugely beneficial. Botulinum toxin A (Botox) is already used in the elective management of incisional hernia and this study evaluates if the relaxation produced could be used to augment the outcomes of conservative management of acutely presenting incisional hernia...

BACKGROUND: Ventral hernia repair is one of the most common operations performed worldwide, and using mesh is standard of care to decrease recurrence. Biologic meshes are increasingly used to minimize complications associated with synthetic mesh, but with significantly higher cost and unclear efficacy. Until recently, most of the evidence supporting the use of biologic meshes was from retrospective cohorts with high heterogeneity and risk of bias. We aimed to report a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials comparing the outcomes of synthetic and biologic mesh in elective open ventral hernia repair...

INTRODUCTION: Incisional hernia has an incidence of up to 20% following laparotomy and is associated with significant morbidity and impairment of quality of life. A variety of surgical strategies including techniques and mesh types are available to manage patients with incisional hernia. Previous works have reported significant heterogeneity in outcome reporting for abdominal wall herniae, including ventral and inguinal hernia. This is coupled with under-reporting of important clinical and patient-reported outcomes...

BACKGROUND: The most common complications related to the closure of abdominal wall incisions are surgical site infections, wound dehiscence and the development of an incisional hernia. Several factors relating to the surgical technique and the materials used have been identified and analysed over the years, as mirrored in the current recommendations of the European Hernia Society, but some misconceptions still remain that hinder wide implementation. METHOD: A literature search was performed in the PubMed and GoogleScholar databases on 15 July 2021 and additionally on 30 March 2022 to include recent updates...

The prevalence of hernias in patient with cirrhosis can reach up to 40%. The pathophysiology of cirrhosis is closely linked to that of the umbilical hernia, but other types are also common in this population. The aim of this study is to evaluate factors that influence in the prognosis after hernia repair in patients with cirrhosis. A historical cohort of 6419 patients submitted to hernia repair was gathered. Clinical, epidemiological data and hernia characteristics were obtained. For patient with cirrhosis, data from exams, surgery and follow-up outcomes were also analyzed...

PURPOSE: Effects of component separation (CS) on abdominal wall morphology have only been investigated in smaller case series or cadavers. This study aimed to compare abdominal wall alterations following endoscopic anterior CS (EACS) or open transverse abdominis release (TAR). METHODS: Computed tomography scans were evaluated in patients who had undergone open incisional hernia repair with EACS or TAR. Abdominal wall circumference, lateral abdominal wall muscle thickness, and displacement were compared with (1) preoperative images after bilateral CS and (2) the undivided side postoperatively after unilateral CS...

PURPOSE: Incisional hernia is the most common complication of midline laparotomy. Although obesity is a known risk factor, the incidence of hernia formation in obese patients is not well defined. We sought to define the rate of incisional hernia formation in obese patients undergoing primary midline laparotomy in a large academic medical center. METHODS: Obese patients (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 ) who underwent an elective or urgent primary midline laparotomy from 2017 to 2021 at our institution were retrospectively identified...

BACKGROUND: Complete fascial closure significantly reduces recurrence rates and wound complications in abdominal wall reconstruction. While component separation techniques have clear effectiveness in closing large abdominal wall defects, preoperative botulinum toxin A has emerged as an adjunct to aid in fascial closure. Few data exist comparing preoperative botulinum toxin A to component separation techniques, and the aim was to do so in a matched study. METHODS: A prospective, single-center, hernia-specific database was queried, and a 3:1 propensity-matched study of patients undergoing open abdominal wall reconstruction from 2016 to 2021 with botulinum toxin A versus component separation techniques was performed based on body mass index, defect width, hernia volume, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wound classification...

OBJECTIVE: To explore how intramuscular injection of botulinum toxin A (BTA) affects the lateral abdominal wall (LAW) musculature, abdominal- and hernia dimensions, and muscle structure on computed tomography (CT) in patients scheduled for complex abdominal wall reconstruction (CAWR). METHODS: Retrospective analysis of prospectively registered patients who received bilateral intramuscular BTA injections into all three muscles of the LAW. Only patients for which a CT was available before and 3-6 weeks after BTA treatment prior to surgery were analyzed...

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to analyse the risk for reoperation following primary ventral hernia repair. METHODS: The study was based on umbilical hernia and epigastric hernia repairs registered in the population-based Swedish National Patient Register (NPR) 2010-2019. Reoperation was defined as repeat repair after primary repair. RESULTS: Altogether 29,360 umbilical hernia repairs and 6514 epigastric hernia repairs were identified...

BACKGROUND: Myofascial release (MFR) techniques, including retromuscular hernia repair, are often considered one-time repairs. We report recurrent ventral hernia repair (RVHR) in patients with prior MFR, focusing on redo-RM repair. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of all patients undergoing RVHR after prior MFR. Primary outcomes were operative time, surgical site infection (SSI), surgical site occurrence (SSO), and 20-month recurrence. RESULTS: 111 RVHR were performed after MFR...

OBJECTIVE: To select and obtain the best evidence for parastomal hernia (PH) prevention in patients with enterostomy so as to provide reference for clinical practice to decrease the rate of PH. METHODS: Based on the method of evidence-based nursing, this paper proposes the prevention and management of PH in patients with enterostomy. The literature was checked according to the "6S" model, and literature evaluation standards (2016 edition) of JBI Evidence-based Health Care Center in Australia were adopted to evaluate the literature quality and evidence level of various studies...

BACKGROUND: Umbilical hernia is a common and potential serious condition in patients with cirrhosis. This systematic review evaluated the risks associated with emergency and elective hernia repair in patients with cirrhosis. METHODS: Systematic review of clinical trials identified through manual and electronic searches in several databases (last update November 2021). The primary random-effects meta-analyses evaluated mortality in patients with or without cirrhosis or following emergency versus elective repair...

BACKGROUND: The aim of this review is to compare the outcomes of surgical repair versus watchful waiting in asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic inguinal hernias. METHODS: Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines were employed. We analysed primary outcomes: pain, quality of life, pain during daily activities and visual analogue scale (VAS that measures pain at rest and on movement) and secondary outcomes: postoperative complications and recurrence...

PURPOSE: Laparoscopic techniques have been used and refined in hernia surgery for several years. The aim of this study was to compare an established method such as laparoscopic intra-peritoneal onlay mesh repair (lap. IPOM) with ventral Transabdominal Preperitoneal Patch Plasty (ventral-TAPP) in abdominal wall hernia repair. METHODS: Patient-related data of 180 laparoscopic ventral hernia repairs between June 2014 and August 2020 were extracted from our prospectively maintained database...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Since there is clinical overlap between populations with cirrhosis and those who require hernia repair (i.e. due to stretching of abdominal walls), we systematically evaluate the effects of cirrhosis on post-hernia repair outcomes. METHODS: 2011-2017 National Inpatient Sample was used to identify patients who underwent hernia repair (included: inguinal, umbilical, and other abdominal hernia repairs). The population was stratified into those with compensated cirrhosis (CC), decompensated cirrhosis (DC), and no cirrhosis; hepatic decompensation was defined as those with portal hypertension, ascites, and varices...

PURPOSE: Patient optimization and selecting the proper technique to repair large incisional hernias is a multifaceted challenge. Body mass index (BMI) is a modifiable variable that may infer higher intra-abdominal pressures and, thus, predict the need for component separation (CS) at the time of surgery, but no data exist to support this. This paper assesses if the ratio of anterior-posterior (AP): transverse (TRSV) abdominal diameter, from pre-operative CT imaging, indicates a larger proportion of intra-abdominal fat and correlates with a hernia defect requiring a component separation for successful tension-free closure...

PURPOSE: The successful repair of any complex ventral hernia requires a thorough understanding of the underlying anatomical defect and its functional context. We describe an improved "functional" approach to CT imaging of the abdominal wall that can facilitate this understanding and assist surgical planning. METHODS: This invited article reports the observational experience gained from the functional abdominal wall CT examinations of 88 patients who underwent complex ventral hernia repair using pre-operative Botulinum toxin A (BTA) infiltration of the lateral oblique abdominal muscles as well as a further eight patients with diastasis rectus abdominis who were examined to exclude ventral hernia...