Ambulatory hernia surgery under local anesthesia is feasible and safe in obese patients

Ambulatory hernia surgery under local anesthesia is becoming more widely used worldwide. Although many reports include obese patients, there are no studies that report specifically on the feasibility and safety of ambulatory hernia surgery in this category of patients. This paper documents our experience in this respect. The present investigation is an observational study performed at the CRS Hernia Center, Santiago, Chile, on 510 obese and 1,521 non-obese patients with all kinds of hernias susceptible to ambulatory hernia repair under local anesthesia. Both tissue and mesh repairs were performed. Obesity was defined as a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30. Patients with a BMI greater than 45 were excluded from this study. Operative time and pain experienced during the intervention were recorded. During the controls performed by a staff member at the 7th postoperative day, a questionnaire was answered by each patient regarding satisfaction, complaints, and postoperative pain. A second questionnaire was completed on the 30th postoperative day. Satisfaction and pain were both measured by means of a 10-point visual analog scale (VAS). The mean age was similar in both groups (51 years for non-obese and 52 years for obese patients). Obesity was present in 38.3% of women and in 17.5% of men (P < 0.002). Diabetes and hypertension were observed in a significantly (P < 0.004 and P < 0.02, respectively) higher proportion of obese patients. The duration of the operation on obese patients was 78 min compared with 62 min in non-obese patients (P < 0.001). Pain experienced during the intervention was significantly higher in obese patients with a VAS of 2.4 vs. in lean patients with a VAS of 2.0 (P < 0.01). At 24 h, pain was significantly higher and satisfaction significantly lower in obese patients (P < 0.007 and P < 0.0001, respectively). All other parameters were similar in both groups. At 30 days, infection was present in 0.7% of lean patients and in 2.1% of obese patients (P < 0.02). The frequency of hematomas, funicular swelling, and pain was similar in both groups. We conclude that ambulatory abdominal wall hernia repair under local anesthesia is feasible in obese patients. Because of the increased length of surgery in these patients, monitored sedation and prophylactic antibiotic cover should be used. The slight decrease in patient satisfaction is balanced by the lower risks and higher costs associated with full general anesthetic.