Safety of open ventral hernia repair in high-risk patients with metabolic syndrome: a multi-institutional analysis of 39,118 cases

Abstract

BackgroundMetabolic syndrome (MetS) entails the simultaneous presence of a constellation of dangerous risk factors including obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. The prevalence of MetS in Western society continues to rise and implies an elevated risk for surgical complications and/or poor surgical outcomes within the affected population. ObjectiveTo assess the risks and outcomes of multi-morbid patients with MetS undergoing open ventral hernia repair. SettingMulti-institutional case-control study in the United States. MethodsThe American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database was sampled for patients undergoing initial open ventral hernia repair from 2012 through 2014 and then stratified into 2 cohorts based on the presence or absence of MetS. Statistical analyses were performed to evaluate preoperative co-morbidities, intraoperative details, and postoperative morbidity and mortality to identify risk factors for adverse outcomes. ResultsMean age (61.0 versus 56.0 yr, P<.001), body mass index (39.2 versus 31.1, P<.001), and prevalence of co-morbidities of multiple organ systems were significantly higher (P<.001) in the MetS cohort compared to control. Patients with MetS received higher American Society of Anesthesiologists classifications (81.0% versus 43.1% class 3 or higher, P<.001), were more likely to require operation as emergency cases (11.4% versus 7.2%, P<.001), required longer operative times (103 versus 87 min, P<.001), had longer hospitalizations (3.5 versus 2.4 d, P<.001), and had more contaminated wounds (15.9% versus 12.0% class 2 or higher, P<.001). Overall, they had more medical (7.5% versus 4.2%, P<.001), and surgical complications (9.7% versus 5.4%, P<.001), experienced more readmissions (8.3% versus 5.7%, P<.001) and reoperations (3.4% versus 2.5%, P<.001), and were at higher risk for eventual death (.8% versus .5%, P=.008). ConclusionsThe presence of MetS is related to a multitude of unfavorable outcomes and increased mortality after open ventral hernia repair compared with a non-MetS control group. MetS is a useful marker for high operative risk in a population that is generally prone to obesity and its associated diseases.