Current Status of Hernia Centres Around the Globe

Area of Science:

• Abdominal surgery
• Hernia repair
• Surgical outcomes

Background:

• Dedicated hernia centers are becoming more common worldwide.
• There is a need to understand the global landscape and practices of these specialized institutions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the current global situation of abdominal wall hernia centers.
• To identify their characteristics, including administrative structure, surgical approaches, and publication rates.

Main Methods:

• A web-based search was performed using Google and PubMed.
• Data collected included center name, country, establishment year, affiliation, operating room availability, surgeon numbers, anesthesia and repair preferences, laparoscopic options, case volume, and publications.

Main Results:

• 182 hernia centers were identified across 30 countries.
• 44.5% are hospital-affiliated, with 15.5% having published on abdominal wall hernias in PubMed.
• A total of 354 publications were found from these centers.

Conclusions:

• Clinical outcomes from hernia centers are not widely shared globally through scientific publications.
• It remains unclear if specialized hernia surgeons and centers achieve superior outcomes compared to general surgeons.