OPEN RYGB LONG-TERM COMPLICATIONS: VENTRAL HERNIA - REPORT ON A 10-YEAR SINGLE-CENTER EXPERIENCE

Aim of Study - we hypothesize if there are any apparent risk stratifications to the abdominal wall compromise after open Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery and if the outcomes of retromuscular sublay mesh repair using Rives/Stoppa's technique were different from the literature. Description of a 10-year experience of a single center using sublay retromuscular mesh hernia repair in patients with ventral hernia after RYGB, including a total of 189 patients. 149 (78.8%) patients were women. Mean age of 47.3±10.9 years. 171 (90.48%) patients had at least one comorbidity, being systemic arterial hypertension the most prevalent (74.26%). The most frequent location of hernias was in the epigastric region with 125 cases (66.1%), followed by umbilical, inferior and subcostal (28.4%; 3.6%; 1.8%). The mean BMI of patients undergoing bariatric surgery was 50.2±6.6 kg/m². 112 (59.26%) patients within the ventral hernia sample had a BMI higher than 50 kg/m² before the bariatric surgery. The average length-of-stay at the hospital was 2.6 days. There were 17 (9%) cases of hernia recurrence. BMI>50 kg/m² and female sex may be risk factor to incisional ventral hernia in patients after open Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. Retromuscular sublay mesh appliance using Rives/Stoppa's technique had low length-of-stay of hospitalization and hernia recurrence compared to the literature.