Abstract
Purpose
Umbilical and epigastric hernia repairs are minor, but are commonly conducted surgical procedures. Long-term results have only been sparsely investigated.
Our objective was to investigate the risk of chronic complaints after a simple sutured repair for small umbilical and epigastric hernias.
Methods
A retrospective cohort study with a 5-year questionnaire and clinical follow-up was conducted. Patients undergoing primary elective, open non-mesh umbilical or epigastric sutured hernia repair were included. Patients completed a structured questionnaire regarding chronic complaints during work and leisure activities using a verbal rating scale. The primary outcome was chronic complaints.
Results
A total of 295 patients were included for analysis after a median of 5.0-year (range 2.8–8.0) follow-up period. Follow-up results were achieved from 262 of the included patients (90 % response rate). Up till 5.8 % of the patients reported moderate or severe pain and discomfort. Work and leisure activities were restricted in 8.5 and 10.0 % of patients, respectively. Patients with chronic complaints had a higher incidence of recurrence (clinical and reoperation), than patients with none or mild complaints (78.6 vs. 22.2 % (P < 0.001)). The recurrence rate was significantly higher after a repair with absorbable suture (20.1 %) compared with non-absorbable suture repair (4.2 %) (P < 0.001).
Conclusion
We found that chronic complaints after a simple sutured umbilical or epigastric repair was in the level of 5.5 % and could in part be explained by recurrence. Furthermore, absorbable suture should be omitted to reduce risk of recurrence.
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No authors have conflicts of interest regarding the present study.
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The study was approved by the Danish Data Protection Agency (reg. no. 2008-58-0020) and the Ethics Committee of the Capital Region (reg.no.: KF07329141), and registered by clinicaltrials.gov (ID: NCT0174740).
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Westen, M., Christoffersen, M.W., Jorgensen, L.N. et al. Chronic complaints after simple sutured repair for umbilical or epigastric hernias may be related to recurrence. Langenbecks Arch Surg 399, 65–69 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00423-013-1119-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00423-013-1119-9