J Korean Surg Soc.  2011 Sep;81(3):205-210. 10.4174/jkss.2011.81.3.205.

Inguinal hernia repair in overweight and obese patients

• Park CY
• Kim JC
• Kim DY
• Kim SK

• KMID: 2212198
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4174/jkss.2011.81.3.205

Abstract

PURPOSE
To describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes after inguinal hernia repair in overweight and obese patients.
METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 636 adult patients who underwent mesh plug inguinal hernia repair performed by one surgeon from November 2001 to January 2009.The clinical characteristics and surgical outcomes of the patients were analyzed. According to the body mass index, patients higher than 23 were defined as overweight and obese patient group (O group) and patients between 18.5 and 23 were defined as normal weight patient group (N group). Seventeen underweight patients were excluded in this study.
RESULTS
Of 619 cases, the number for O group was 344 (55.6%) and for N group was 275 (44.4%). The mean age was significantly higher in N group (62.2 +/- 12.6 vs. 64.4 +/- 14.8, P = 0.048). Underlying diseases were present in 226 (65.7%) of the O group and 191 (69.5%) of the N group (P = 0.322). Anesthesia method, operative time and postoperative hospital stay had no significant difference between the two groups. Postoperative complications developed in 41 (11.9%) of the O group and in 28 (10.2%) of the N group, respectively, and no major complications developed in either group.
CONCLUSION
Adult inguinal hernias developed at a relatively younger age in overweight and obese patients than in normal weight patients. There were no specific differences in other clinical characteristics and outcomes between the two groups. Therefore inguinal hernia repair in overweight and obese patients is a safe procedure as in normal weight patients.

Keyword

Inguinal hernia; Overweight; Obese

MeSH Terms

Adult
Anesthesia
Body Mass Index
Hernia, Inguinal
Humans
Length of Stay
Medical Records
Operative Time
Overweight
Postoperative Complications
Retrospective Studies
Thinness

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