Factors affecting the development of ventral incisional hernia post abdominal surgery: a retrospective cohort study

Abstract

Background: Ventral incisional hernia (VIH) is one of the most common post-operative complications following abdominal surgery. The objective of this study was to evaluate the rate and risk factors associated with development of a ventral incisional hernia (VIH).Methods: Patients who underwent major abdominal surgery between 2010 and 2012 at a single institution were included in this retrospective cohort study. Data were collected from medical records. The primary outcome was clinical or radiological evidence of incisional hernia; explanatory variables were patient demographics and potential clinico-pathological risk factors for hernia development.Results: A total of 295 patients who underwent laparotomy were analysed. 45 (15.25%) patients were found to have a ventral incisional hernia on follow-up. The median time to development of hernia was 351 days. There were equal numbers of elective (N=22) and emergency (N=23) operations that developed an incisional hernia. Of the explanatory variables considered diabetes, hypertension (HTN) and body mass index (BMI) had persistent significant positive associations with the development of an incisional hernia. On univariable analysis diabetes (HR = 2.73, p-value = 0.004) and hypertension (HR =2.17, p-value = 0.016) were identified as independent risk factors for hernia development. BMI was also significantly associated with development of an incisional hernia on univariate analysis, but due to missing data this did not reach statistical significance on multivariable analysis.Conclusions: Although there are several risk factors to development of VIH, diabetes and HTN were associated with development of incisional hernia in our study. BMI also appears to be an important determinant of development of VIH. Further research in this area is likely to identify an at-risk subset of patients, who may benefit from weight loss prior to surgery or prophylactic mesh post-laparotomy.