Reoperation as surrogate endpoint in hernia surgery. A three year follow-up of 1565 herniorrhaphies

Abdominal vault suspension with rectus sheath strips: a case series

This is a retrospective case series conducted in Worthing General Hospital to evaluate the clinical outcome of abdominal vault suspension (AVS) using rectus sheath strips to treat vaginal vault prolapse. Thirty-four patients had suspension of the vaginal vault using this procedure. Patients were followed up at 3-6 months and by questionnaire for up to 90 months. Incidence of intraoperative and postoperative complications, improvement of prolapsed symptoms and recurrence of vault prolapsed were the main outcome measures. There were no serious intraoperative complications. Ninety four percent of patients had subjective resolution of their prolapsed symptoms whereas 6% had further symptoms. Hospital stay ranged from 2 to 8 days. There were no cases of bowel problems in the postoperative period or in the long term. Hospital stay ranged from 2 to 8 days. AVS using rectus sheath strips appears to be a safer and easier alternative to other abdominal suspension procedures. The use of patients' own tissue eliminates the risk of mesh erosion.

Volume of procedures and risk of recurrence after repair of groin hernia: national register study

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether the association between volume and outcome found in major surgery also holds true for a minor operation.

DESIGN

Review of outcomes after hernia surgery in Sweden.

SETTING

Surgical units registered with the Swedish hernia register, which in 2004 covered about 95% of all hernia operations in Sweden.

PARTICIPANTS

86,409 patients over 15 years, who underwent 96,601 unilateral or bilateral groin hernia repairs (94,077 inguinal and 2524 femoral) in 1996-2004 at the participating surgical units.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE

Re-operation for recurrence.

RESULTS

There was a significantly higher rate of re-operation in surgeons who carried out 1-5 repairs a year than in surgeons who carried out more repairs. There was no association between outcome and further increases in volume. Although about half of surgeons in Sweden who repair hernias are low volume operators, they performed only 8.4% of all repairs.

CONCLUSIONS

Sweden's numerous low volume hernia surgeons perform such a small proportion of all operations that the impact of their inferior results on the nationwide re-operation rate is minimal. Volume indicates an approximate minimum value for the number of hernia repairs a surgeon should do each year but the outcome in surgeons who carry out more than that number disqualifies volume as an indicator of proficiency.

Long-term sequelae after 1,311 primary inguinal hernia repairs

BACKGROUND

Aim of this study was to analyze long-term sequelae, risk factors, and satisfaction after inguinal hernia primary repair.

METHODS

A postal questionnaire was mailed to all patients operated between January 1997 and December 2004 for inguinal hernia repair. Patients who had a lump in the groin and patients who experienced chronic problems were invited for a physical examination. Patients who reported having chronic pain were asked to fill out the short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ).

RESULTS

Chronic pain was present in 18.1% of cases. The strongest risk factors were presence of recurrence, use of heavyweight mesh, and age younger than 66 years. By means of the SF-MPQ, we found that the pain reported by most patients was sensory-discriminative in quality, with "tender" and "aching" being the most common descriptors used. About 71.3% of replies used descriptors typical of nociceptive pain, 8.9% of neuropathic pain, and 19.8% of nociceptive plus neuropathic. Chronic pain was severe in 2.1% of patients and interfered with normal activities, work, and exercise. The cumulative recurrence rate was 2.1%. There was a strong correlation between lump and recurrence. Patients declared themselves satisfied with the result of the operation in 93.1% of cases. Due to chronic pain, 6.5% of patients were unsatisfied.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates that the main problem after inguinal hernia repair remains chronic pain, which was the primary reason of dissatisfaction. The SF-MPQ is feasible and easy to administer to all patients and provides important information about qualitative features of the pain.

Short postal questionnaire and selective clinical examination combined with repeat mailing and telephone reminders as a method of follow-up in hernia surgery

BACKGROUND

We assessed the usefulness of a short postal questionnaire and selective clinical examination combined with repeat mailing and telephone reminders for quality assessment in hernia surgery.

METHODS

All patients (n = 1153) who underwent tension-free hernioplasty through an open preperitoneal approach between 1999 and 2003 received a six-item questionnaire with a covering letter and a stamped addressed envelope. Nonresponders received two successive new questionnaires and a telephone call.

RESULTS

A total of 841 (72.9%) patients returned questionnaires after three reminders (512 after the first mailing, 205 after the second, and 124 after the third). Positive questionnaire answers were documented for 152 (18.1%) of repairs and negative answers for 689 (81.9%). Of the 152 patients who answered "yes" to either of the questions regarding recurrence and/or current pain, 91 declined clinical appointments, 24 could not be contacted by phone, and 37 underwent physical examination. Of the 312 patients who did not return the questionnaire, eight had died, 124 did not want to be visited, and 180 could not be located. The recurrence rate was 2.7% and the chronic pain rate 5.9%.

CONCLUSIONS

Repeat mailing was a useful strategy to improve response to self-administered postal questionnaires on hernia surgery quality assessment. However, contacting the group that responded with positive questionnaire answers was a poorly effective way to encourage subjects to come for a physical examination.

Recurrence after totally extraperitoneal laparoscopic repair: Implications for operative technique and surgical training

BACKGROUND

The totally extraperitoneal (TEP) approach is increasingly favoured for inguinal hernia repair. The learning curve is slow with high, early recurrence rates but the exact cause of recurrence is unknown.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the reasons for recurrence, identify the critical operative steps and examine the influence of surgical experience and training on results.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

All patients undergoing TEP between 1993 and 2004 were included. Patients requiring re-operation for recurrence were identified and examined in detail.

RESULTS

Eight surgical teams performed 1682 TEP repairs. Fifty five hernias recurred (3.27%) with a median follow-up of seven years (range 1-11 years). In six recurrences, the first repair was itself for recurrence and in 24, the initial repair was bilateral. The initial hernia was direct in 26 and indirect in 29 patients. These distributions were similar to a control sample. At re-operation, indirect recurrence was more common with 18 direct, and 37 indirect cases (P=0.020). At re-operation, when the original mesh could be identified (18 repairs), it appeared to have moved superiorly in 13 cases. Typically, recurrence occurred in 10% of a surgeon's first 20 cases, 4% of the next 60 cases and falling to below 2% thereafter.

CONCLUSION

TEP repairs have a tendency for indirect recurrence even after direct repair. Meshes tend to migrate superiorly. Results suggest that recurrence occurs most often because of failure to fully expose the deep inguinal ring and/or to adequately spread the mesh inferiorly and laterally. We recommend particular attention be paid to these technical aspects. Acceptable results are obtainable after an experience of 20 cases but further improvement in results occurs as experience reaches 80 operations. With a large number of consultants having little or no experience in TEP surgery, there is an urgent need for 'hands-on' training courses so that all patients have access to TEP, particularly those with bilateral or recurrent inguinal herniae.

Comparison of Kugel and Lichtenstein operations for inguinal hernia repair: results of a prospective randomized study

INTRODUCTION

The aim of this prospective randomized clinical study was to compare the Lichtenstein hernia repair with Kugel's patch hernia repair.

METHODS

From September 1999 to August 2002, adult patients with inguinal hernia were randomized into two groups. Group I included patients with the Lichtenstein hernioplasty, and group II included patients with the Kugel hernioplasty. The duration of the operation, surgical findings, and postoperative complications were recorded for the patients in both groups.

RESULTS

A total of 139 patients (134 men, 5 women) were randomized to either group I or group II. No significant differences were observed for the duration of the operation or the complication rates between the groups during the same follow-up time (53.06 +/- 5.6 months vs. 53.41 +/- 7.11 months in groups I and II, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Kugel herniorraphy is a minimally invasive method and as safe as the Lichtenstein hernia repair technique, with similar complication rates.

Prospective evaluation of 6895 groin hernia repairs in women

Background

Although 8 per cent of groin hernia repairs are performed in women, there is little published literature relating specifically to women. This study compared differences in outcome between women and men after groin hernia repair.

Methods

Data collected prospectively in the Swedish Hernia Register between 1992 and 2003 were analysed, including 6895 groin hernia repairs in women and 83 753 in men.

Results

A higher proportion of emergency operations was carried out in women (16·9 per cent) than men (5·0 per cent), leading to bowel resection in 16·6 and 5·6 per cent respectively. During reoperation femoral hernias were found in 41·6 per cent of the women who were diagnosed with a direct or indirect inguinal hernia at the primary operation. The corresponding proportion for men was 4·6 per cent. The hernia repair was not classified as a standard operation (e.g. Shouldice, Lichtenstein, Plug/Mesh, TAPP/TEP) in 38·2 per cent of women and 11·2 per cent of men. Women had a significantly higher risk of reoperation for recurrence than men, and techniques associated with the lowest risk for reoperation in men had the highest risk in women.

Conclusion

A greater proportion of women than men require emergency groin hernia repair, with consequently higher rates of bowel resection, complications and death. Surgical techniques developed for use in men may put women at unnecessary risk.

Effects of training and supervision on recurrence rate after inguinal hernia repair

Background

There is little information about the effects of operative experience and supervision of trainees on outcome in inguinal hernia surgery, one of the cornerstone operations of basic surgical training.

Methods

All primary inguinal hernia repairs carried out between 1994 and 2001 were registered prospectively in the Lothian Surgical Audit database. Subsequent problems that required re-referral were identified from this database. Patients who required reoperation for recurrence a median of 3 (range 1–7) years after surgery were identified.

Results

Some 4406 repairs, including 90 recurrences (2·0 per cent), were identified. Open mesh, open sutured and laparoscopic techniques were employed. Senior trainees (registrars and senior registrars) had similar recurrence rates to consultants; supervision did not affect outcome. Junior trainees (senior house officers) had similar recurrence rates to consultants as long as they were supervised by either a senior trainee or a consultant. Unsupervised junior trainees had unacceptably high recurrence rates (open mesh: relative risk (RR) 21·0 (95 per cent confidence interval (c.i.) 7·3 to 59·9), P < 0·001; open sutured: RR 16·5 (95 per cent c.i. 7·2 to 37·8), P < 0·001).

Conclusion

Senior trainees may operate independently and supervise junior trainees, with recurrence rates equal to those of consultant surgeons. Junior trainees should be encouraged and given more practice in inguinal hernia repair with appropriate supervision.

Influence of suture material and surgical technique on risk of reoperation after non-mesh open hernia repair

BACKGROUND

Although mesh techniques are used with increasing frequency, sutured repair still has a place in groin hernia surgery. Studies relating suture material to recurrence rate have yielded conflicting results. The aim of the present study was to analyse the influence of suture material and sutured non-mesh technique on the risk of reoperation in open groin hernia repair using data from the Swedish Hernia Register.

METHODS

The relative risk of reoperation after sutured repair using non-absorbable, late absorbable and early absorbable sutures was compared in multivariate analyses, taking into account known confounding factors.

RESULTS

Between 1992 and 2000, 46,745 hernia repairs were recorded in the Swedish Hernia Register. Of these, 18,057 repairs were performed with open non-mesh methods and were included in the analysis. Using non-absorbable suture as reference, the relative risk of reoperation after repair with early absorbable suture and late absorbable suture was 1.50 (95 per cent confidence interval (c.i.) 1.22 to 1.83) and 1.03 (95 per cent c.i. 0.83 to 1.28) respectively. Using the Shouldice repair as reference, other sutured repairs were associated with a significantly higher relative risk of reoperation (1.22, 95 per cent c.i. 1.03 to 1.44).

CONCLUSION

A non-absorbable or a late absorbable suture is recommended for open non-mesh groin hernia repair. The Shouldice technique was found to be superior to other open methods.

One-thousand consecutive inguinal hernia repairs under unmonitored local anesthesia

To evaluate the feasibility and safety of unmonitored local anesthesia (ULA) for elective open inguinal hernia repair, we made a prospective, consecutive data collection from 1000 operations on primary and recurrent hernias. Follow-up consisted of a questionnaire 1 mo after surgery and retrieval from the electronic patient data management system. In 921 ASA Group I and II and 79 ASA Group III and IV patients, the median age was 60 yr (range, 18-95 yr). ULA was converted to general anesthesia in 5 of 1000 cases, and 961 patients were discharged on the day of surgery after 95 min (median; interquartile range, 75-150); 29 patients had complications requiring surgical intervention. Within the first month, three patients died of causes unrelated to hernia surgery, and six had cardiovascular or respiratory events. The questionnaire was returned by 940 patients; 124 were dissatisfied with local anesthesia, day-case setup, or both, primarily because of intraoperative pain (n = 74; 7.8%). We conclude that open inguinal hernia repair can be conducted under ULA, regardless of comorbidity, with a small rate of deviation from day-case setup and minimal morbidity. It provides a safe alternative to other anesthetic techniques with an acceptable rate of satisfaction, but intraoperative pain relief needs improvement.

IMPLICATIONS

Inguinal hernia repair can be safely performed under unmonitored local anesthesia with infrequent postoperative morbidity and acceptable satisfaction, but intraoperative pain may be a problem.

Quality assessment of 26,304 herniorrhaphies in Denmark: a prospective nationwide study

BACKGROUND

Groin hernia repair is one of the most frequent operations, but there is no consensus about surgical or anaesthetic technique. Furthermore, no nationwide studies have been done. Our aim was to investigate outcome results of groin hernia surgery to improve quality of treatment.

METHODS

We prospectively recorded 26304 groin hernia repairs done in Denmark from Jan 1, 1998, to June 30, 2000, in a nationwide Danish hernia database.

FINDINGS

93% of all groin herniorrhaphies done in Denmark in the 30 months of the study were recorded in the database. Kaplan-Meier estimates of reoperation rates 30 months after anterior mesh repair and laparoscopic repair were significantly lower than after sutured posterior wall repairs in primary inguinal hernia (2.2% and 2.6% vs 4.4%; p<0.0001). Reoperation rates were also lower with anterior mesh repair (6.1%; p<0.0001) and laparoscopic repair (3.4%; p<0.0001) than with sutured posterior wall repair (10.6%) after recurrent hernia. Use of Lichtenstein mesh repair increased from 33% in January, 1998, to 62% in June, 2000, whereas use of laparoscopic repair remained constant at about 5%. Kaplan-Meier estimates of reoperation rates were 2.8% in the first 15 months and 1.6% in the second (p=0.03). For elective repairs, only 59% of patients were treated on an outpatient basis, and only 18% had local anaesthesia.

INTERPRETATION

Mesh repairs have a lower reoperation rate than conventional open repairs. Systematic prospective recording of treatment and outcome variables in a national clinical database improved the overall quality of surgical care. However, there is a large potential for cost savings and more efficient patient care with extended use of mesh techniques, outpatient surgery, and local anaesthesia.

Is a dissection balloon beneficial in bilateral, totally extraperitoneal, endoscopic hernioplasty? A randomized, prospective, multicenter study

SUMMARY

Laparoscopic hernioplasty has been criticized because of its technical complexity and increased costs. Disposable dissection balloons can be used to gain the initial working space in totally extraperitoneal endoscopic (TEP) hernioplasty, but this increases its cost. Forty-four men with bilateral, primary or recurrent inguinal hernias were randomized to undergo TEP with or without dissection balloon. There were two conversions to transabdominal preperitoneal hernioplasty, or open herniorrhaphy, in the group with balloon and four in the group without balloon. There was no difference in the postoperative morbidity or operation time between the two groups, and there were no major complications in either group. The recurrence rate was 4.3% in the group with the balloon and 7.1% in the group without the balloon. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups. Although our study population is too small to detect small differences between the groups, it seems that the use of a dissection balloon is not beneficial in a bilateral TEP.

Hernia surgery for the third millennium. Does classical herniorraphy still play a role?

The steadily increasing use of prosthetic grafts in hernia repairs can be said to play down the classical approach for repairing groin hernia. We retrospectively report on 894 patients operated on for groin hernia at our out-patient surgery clinic from June 1992 to May 1998. Herniorraphy was widely performed (96.3%). The recurrence rate was of 1.6% (overall). For patients younger than 45 yr with no systemic concurrent disease, as few as 0.1% relapsed after a 58-month average follow-up. According to our results, ambulatory herniorraphy can provide an excellent degree of efficiency in selected young patients suffering from indirect unilateral primary groin hernia. Likewise, we regard the prosthetic repair as the gold standard technique in those patients with a weakened posterior inguinal wall.

Reoperation after recurrent groin hernia repair

OBJECTIVE

To analyze reoperation rates for recurrent and primary groin hernia repair documented in the Swedish Hernia Register from 1996 to 1998, and to study variables associated with increased or decreased relative risks for reoperation after recurrent hernia.

METHODS

Data were retrieved for all groin hernia repairs prospectively recorded in the Swedish Hernia register from 1996 to 1998. Actuarial analysis adjusted for patients' death was used for calculating the cumulative incidence of reoperation. Relative risk for reoperation was estimated using the Cox proportional hazards model.

RESULTS

From 1996 to 1998, 17,985 groin hernia operations were recorded in the Swedish Hernia Register, 15% for recurrent hernia and 85% for primary hernia. At 24 months the risk for having had a reoperation was 4.6% after recurrent hernia repair and 1.7% after primary hernia repair. The relative risk for reoperation was significantly lower for laparoscopic methods and for anterior tension-free repair than for other techniques. Postoperative complications and direct hernia were associated with an increased relative risk for reoperation. Day-case surgery and local infiltration anesthesia were used less frequently for recurrent hernia than for primary hernia.

CONCLUSIONS

Recurrent groin hernia still constitutes a significant quantitative problem for the surgical community. This study supports the use of mesh by laparoscopy or anterior tension-free repair for recurrent hernia operations.

Is a dissection balloon beneficial in totally extraperitoneal endoscopic hernioplasty (TEP)? A randomized prospective multicenter study

BACKGROUND

Laparoscopic hernioplasty has been criticized because of its technical complexity and increased costs. Disposable dissection balloons can be used to facilitate the creation of the initial working space in totally extraperitoneal endoscopic hernioplasty (TEP), but their use adds to the cost of the operation.

METHODS

A total of 322 men with unilateral, primary, or recurrent inguinal hernias were randomized to undergo TEP with or without a dissection balloon.

RESULTS

In the group with the balloon, three of 161 patients (2.5%) required conversion to transabdominal preperitoneal hernioplasty (TAPP), or open herniorraphy, whereas 17 of 161 patients (10.6%) were converted to TAPP or open herniorraphy in the group without the balloon (p = 0.002). The mean operation time was 55 min in the group with the balloon and 63 min in the group without the balloon (p = 0.004). There was no difference between them in postoperative morbidity, and there were no major complications in either group. The recurrence rate was 3.1% in the group with the balloon and 3.7 % in the group without the balloon (p = 0.8).

CONCLUSION

The use of a dissection balloon in TEP reduces the conversion rate and may be especially beneficial early in the learning curve.

Detection of groin hernia with physical examination, ultrasound, and MRI compared with laparoscopic findings

OBJECTIVE

To determine the diagnostic accuracy of physical examination, ultrasound, and dynamic MRI in patients with inguinal hernia.

METHODS

In 41 patients with clinically evident herniations, 82 groins were evaluated using a standard ultrasound and MRI protocol, the latter including T1- and T2-weighted sequences as well as two dynamic sequences. All ultrasound examinations and MRI scans were reviewed without knowledge of clinical findings. In all cases, correlation with findings at laparoscopic surgery was made.

RESULTS

At surgery, 55 inguinal herniations were found. Physical examination revealed 42 herniations (one false-positive finding), whereas ultrasound made the diagnosis of a hernia in 56 cases (five false-positive and four false-negative findings). MRI diagnosed 53 herniations (one false-positive and three false-negative findings). Thus, sensitivity and specificity figures were 74.5% and 96.3% for physical examination, 92.7% and 81.5% for ultrasound, and 94.5% and 96.3% for MRI.

CONCLUSIONS

In patients with clinically uncertain herniations, MRI is a valid diagnostic tool with a high positive predictive value.

Hernia registers and specialization

Registration of hernia surgery is useful in the demonstration of outcome quality provided reoperation is linked to the primary procedure. Prerequisites for a hernia register are discussed based on Swedish experience. Evidence indicates that register participation reduces reoperation rate and increases costeffectiveness. Monitoring of outcome quality is important for both specialized and nonspecialized hernia surgeons. Registers of the type discussed may assist general surgeons in their efforts to achieve levels defined by experts.

Methods of repair and risk for reoperation in Swedish hernia surgery from 1992 to 1996

BACKGROUND

Difficulties in obtaining and analysing outcome measures in hernia surgery may be an obstacle to necessary progress in non-specialized hospitals. Against this background a voluntary register was initiated in 1992 with the aim of describing and evaluating hernia surgery in participating units.

METHODS

Prospective registration of all hernia operations carried out in participating hospitals was undertaken using identification codes specific for each individual. Repair technique, complications, day surgery, type of anaesthesia, and reoperation for recurrence were recorded. Actuarial analysis was used to determine the cumulative incidence of reoperation. Relative risk for reoperation was estimated by the Cox proportional hazards model.

RESULTS

The number of participating hospitals and registered operations increased from eight and 1689 respectively in 1992 to 21 and 4056 in 1996. The use of mesh increased from 7 per cent of all operations in 1992 to 51 per cent in 1996. The proportion of operations done for recurrent hernia remained constant at 16-17 per cent throughout the 5-year study period. For all 12542 herniorrhaphies registered, the cumulative incidence of reoperation at 2 years was 3 (95 per cent confidence interval 3-4) per cent. Postoperative complications, recurrent hernia, direct hernia and absorbable suture were associated with increased risk of reoperation for recurrence. An increased incidence of reoperation, although not statistically significant, was noted for conventional open repairs (Bassini, McVay, Marcy and others) versus the Shouldice technique.

CONCLUSION

In this prospective audit an increasing use of mesh was observed for open and laparoscopic surgery, especially for bilateral and recurrent hernia operations. Reoperation rates decreased significantly between 1992 and 1995.