AbstractBackground: Incisional hernia is a common surgical condition with a reported incidence of 2-11% of patients subjected to abdominal operations.
Aim: This is a prospective study which was under taken to study the differences in the post-operative events of the onlay mesh repair between the transverse and the midline vertical incision approach in our setup.
Methods: This is a prospective study of 55 cases of incisional hernia that were operated in the department of general surgery, Govt. medical college, Omandurar govt. estate, Chennai, India from Nov 2016 to June 2017. Patient’s history, clinical finding, investigations, operative findings, operative procedures and postoperative complications were all recorded in a proforma specially prepared. All patients underwent onlay mesh repair. The approach of the repair was based on the preference of the operating surgeon & the ease to proceed with surgery. Patients were followed up for immediate post-operative complications. The two groups were compared using appropriate statistical tests.
Results: Most of the patients presented with incisional hernia in the infraumbilical region. 30 patients were approached with transverse incision & 25 patients with midline vertical incision. Pain score & duration of drainage were significantly higher in the transverse approach group. Postoperative complications were also higher among the transverse group than in the midline vertical incision group, but none of them were statistically significant.
Conclusion: The study showed that the post-operative complications were higher in the transverse incision group, but none of them were statistically significant, for onlay mesh repair of incisional hernia.