Local anaesthetic repair of paraumbilical hernia as a safe option across a range of body mass indices

Abstract

Local anaesthetic repair of paraumbilical hernia (PUH) is a commonly performed operation. The aim of this study was to investigate whether local anaesthesia (LA) repair of PUH was feasible in patients with a high body mass index (BMI) and whether BMI had an impact on patient reported pain scores. Patients undergoing PUH repair under the care of single consultant in a district general hospital between March 2010 and January 2018 were recruited. Patient demographics, BMI, duration of operation, volume of LA infiltrated and grade of operating surgeon were available from the consultant's database. The database also included prospectively recorded patient reported pain scores based on a numerical scale (0-100) and overall patient satisfaction measured as a percentage. Patients were divided into three BMI categories: <25kg/m2, 25-30kg/m2 and >30 kg/m2. A total of 123 patients underwent PUH repair under LA during the study period. Six patients had no recorded BMI and were excluded from the analysis. Of the remaining 117 patients, 36 (31%) were in the normal BMI range, 35 (30%) in the overweight range and 46 (39%) in the obese range. There was no statistically significant difference between the BMI groups in terms of volume of LA used, duration of operation, postoperative pain scores or patient satisfaction. LA repair of PUH is feasible for patients with a raised BMI and does not result in higher postoperative pain scores or the need for higher doses of LA.