Incisional hernia in re-opened abdominal incisions: An overlooked risk factor
✍ Scribed by P. M. Lamont; Professor H. Ellis
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1988
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 334 KB
- Volume
- 75
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0007-1323
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Professor ti. Ellis lncisional hernia in re-opened abdominal incisions: an overlooked risk factor Many patients undergoing laparotomy will have had a previous incision in the abdominal wall which offers a convenient and logical route for reexploration. This study aims to examine the risk of subsequent incisional herniation in incisions made through previous scar tissue compared with incisions made through fiesh tissues. Out of a total of 1022 laparotomies performed in a 5-year period on one surgical unit, the incisional hernia rates were available for assessment in 699 fieshly made incisions, 142 reincisions and 36 incisional hernias. The incidence of incisional hernia was 6 per cent after fieshly made incisions and this incidence was increased after both re-incision (1 2 per cent, P < 0.05) and incisional hernia repair (44 per cent, P<O-01). With the exception of jaundice, none of the other commonly accepted risk factors for incisional herniation were signijcantly increased in those patients with re-incised wounds who subsequently developed a hernia, when compared with patients who did not develop a hernia. A n increased risk of incisional herniation is present when laparotomy is performed through a previous abdominal incision.