Outcomes after Ventral Hernia Repair with Concurrent Panniculectomy: A Large Database Review

Area of Science:

• Abdominal surgery
• Hernia repair
• Surgical outcomes

Background:

• Patients with large pannus and ventral hernias may benefit from combined panniculectomy and open ventral hernia repair (VHR-PAN).
• Concerns exist regarding increased surgical site occurrences (SSOs) with the addition of panniculectomy.
• This study evaluates outcomes of open VHR with and without concurrent panniculectomy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare short-term and 1-year outcomes of open ventral hernia repair (VHR) with and without concurrent panniculectomy (VHR-PAN).
• To identify risk factors associated with surgical outcomes in patients undergoing VHR-PAN.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Abdominal Core Health Quality Collective database (2012-2023).
• Compared patient and surgical characteristics, short-term outcomes (SSI, SSO, procedural intervention), and 1-year outcomes (patient-reported outcomes, hernia recurrence) between VHR-only and VHR-PAN groups.
• Employed logistic regression to identify risk factors.

Main Results:

• Analyzed 2,108 patients (870 VHR-PAN) from 28,140 open VHR cases.
• VHR-PAN patients were more likely to be female, have BMI > 40, and larger hernia width.
• Matched analysis showed no significant difference in SSI, SSO, SSO requiring intervention, or 1-year recurrence rates between VHR-PAN and VHR-only groups.

Conclusions:

• Concurrent VHR-PAN is not associated with a significant increase in complication risks.
• VHR-PAN can be safely considered for selected patients requiring ventral hernia repair.