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Management of blunt traumatic abdominal wall hernias: A Western Trauma Association multicenter study
Kevin N Harrell1, Arthur D Grimes, Roxie M Albrecht
1From the Department of Surgery (K.N.H., R.A.M.), University of Tennessee College of Medicine Chattanooga, Chattanooga, Tennessee; Department of Surgery (A.D.G., R.M.A.), University of Oklahoma, School of Medicine, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Department of Surgery (J.K.R., W.R.U.), University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, Kentucky; Department of Surgery (J.D.S., S.R.T.), Grady Health System, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia; University of Texas at Austin (M.D.T., M.N.), Austin, Texas; Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center (B.W.T., S.A.A.), Charlotte, North Carolina; Grant Medical Center (A.LR., M.C.S.), Columbus, Ohio; Department of Surgery (M.J.C., B.R.C.), Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, Roanoke, Virginia; Department of Surgery (B.S.K., M.A.dM.), Medical College of Wisconsin Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Research Medical Center (M.J.L., J.M.C.), Kansas City, Missouri; Ascension Via Christi on St. Francis Hospital (J.M.H., K.L.L.), Wichita, Kansas; Department of Surgery (D.C.C., C.R.F.), Maine Medical Center, Portland, Maine; Department of Surgery (R.C.P.), Denver Health Medical Center, Denver, Colorado; Department of Surgery (M.T.K., H.B.A.), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Department of Surgery (P.O.U.), WakeMed Health Raleigh; Department of General Surgery (G.D.S., A.N.H.), Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Department of Trauma/Acute Care Surgery (W.L.B., K.B.S.), Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, La Jolla, California; Medical City Plano Hospital (G.M.) Plano, Texas; Department of Surgery (O.M., J.N.), University of California, School of Medicine, Irvine, Orange, California; Department of Pediatric Surgery (N.S., S.L.M.), Children's Hospital Colorado, Denver, Colorado.
Background:
Blunt traumatic abdominal wall hernias (TAWH) occur in approximately 15,000 patients per year. Limited data are available to guide the timing of surgical intervention or the feasibility of nonoperative management.
Methods:
A retrospective study of patients presenting with blunt TAWH from January 2012 through December 2018 was conducted. Patient demographic, surgical, and outcomes data were collected from 20 institutions through the Western Trauma Association Multicenter Trials Committee.
Results:
Two hundred and eighty-one patients with TAWH were identified. One hundred and seventy-six (62.6%) patients underwent operative hernia repair, and 105 (37.4%) patients underwent nonoperative management. Of those undergoing surgical intervention, 157 (89.3%) were repaired during the index hospitalization, and 19 (10.7%) underwent delayed repair. Bowel injury was identified in 95 (33.8%) patients with the majority occurring with rectus and flank hernias (82.1%) as compared with lumbar hernias (15.8%). Overall hernia recurrence rate was 12.0% (n = 21). Nonoperative patients had a higher Injury Severity Score (24.4 vs. 19.4, p = 0.010), head Abbreviated Injury Scale score (1.1 vs. 0.6, p = 0.006), and mortality rate (11.4% vs. 4.0%, p = 0.031). Patients who underwent late repair had lower rates of primary fascial repair (46.4% vs. 77.1%, p = 0.012) and higher rates of mesh use (78.9% vs. 32.5%, p < 0.001). Recurrence rate was not statistically different between the late and early repair groups (15.8% vs. 11.5%, p = 0.869).
Conclusion:
This report is the largest series and first multicenter study to investigate TAWHs. Bowel injury was identified in over 30% of TAWH cases indicating a significant need for immediate laparotomy. In other cases, operative management may be deferred in specific patients with other life-threatening injuries, or in stable patients with concern for bowel injury. Hernia recurrence was not different between the late and early repair groups.
Level Of Evidence:
Therapeutic/care management, Level IV.
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