Compliance to the South African ventral hernia guidelines: inaugural results from the HIG(SA) registry

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The Hernia Interest Group (HIG) of South Africa (SA), following the publication of their inguinal and ventral hernia guidelines (in 2015 and 2016 respectively), developed a hernia registry, the HIG(SA) hernia registry METHODS: A retrospective analysis of the prospectively maintained HIG(SA) hernia registry from 1 February 2019 to 29 February 2020. Compliance to six recommendations made in the HIG(SA) ventral hernia guidelines were assessed in both the public and private healthcare systems RESULTS: Three hundred and fifty-three ventral hernia repair cases were included in the study. Fifty-four per cent were private and 46% were public sector cases. Laparoscopic repair for patients with a BMI > 35 kg/m2 occurred in 38% of eligible cases and a minimum 5 cm of mesh overlap was achieved in 50% of cases. Overall, 80% of elective cases occurred in non-smokers; 97% of the intraperitoneal on-lay mesh (IPOM) repairs used composite mesh; 96% of ventral hernias with defects of larger than 2 cm and 95% of incisional hernias were repaired with mesh. Non-smokers undergoing repair numbered 72% in public and 85% in private practice, p = 0.01 CONCLUSION: Ventral hernia repair practices in SA facilities overall had good compliance to four out of the six HIG(SA) ventral hernia guidelines highlighted for the purposes of this study. The two guidelines that had poor compliance overall were 'laparoscopic repair for patients with a BMI of > 35 kg/m2' and 'ensuring a mesh overlap of 5 cm'. The public sector had higher rates of current smokers undergoing elective ventral hernia repair Keywords: registry, low-middle income countries, ventral hernia, hernia guidelines

Management of midline ventral hernias in a surgical department of sub-Saharan Africa: A retrospective cohort study

“…It unites the two rectus muscles of the abdomen. It is an area of weakness in abdominal wall representing 30% of all hernias [ 1 ]. The specific location of these hernias is mainly in the umbilical and epigastric region [ [1] , [2] , [3] ].…”

“…It is an area of weakness in abdominal wall representing 30% of all hernias [ 1 ]. The specific location of these hernias is mainly in the umbilical and epigastric region [ [1] , [2] , [3] ]. They can be congenital in children, or acquired in adults [ 1 , 4 , 5 ].…”

“…The specific location of these hernias is mainly in the umbilical and epigastric region [ [1] , [2] , [3] ]. They can be congenital in children, or acquired in adults [ 1 , 4 , 5 ]. In the latter case, the main causes are chronic cough, obesity, pregnancy, and work with physical effort [ 1 , 2 , 6 ].…”

“…They can be congenital in children, or acquired in adults [ 1 , 4 , 5 ]. In the latter case, the main causes are chronic cough, obesity, pregnancy, and work with physical effort [ 1 , 2 , 6 ]. This explain the need in the treatment, of optimization by eradicating the cause if it is identified, then strengthening the abdominal wall with sutures or mesh [ 1 , 2 ].…”

“…In the latter case, the main causes are chronic cough, obesity, pregnancy, and work with physical effort [ 1 , 2 , 6 ]. This explain the need in the treatment, of optimization by eradicating the cause if it is identified, then strengthening the abdominal wall with sutures or mesh [ 1 , 2 ]. However, there is no consensus applicable to all patients and contexts in terms of surgical technique [ 1 , 2 , 4 ].…”