Impact of an abdominal wall surgery specialist on incisional hernia outcomes

Introduction: General surgery is undergoing progressive super-specialization with conditions previously managed by general surgeons now being treated by super-specialists (SS). No universal criteria currently exist to define abdominal wall surgery super-specialization (AWS-SS), and the designation r...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: López Cano, Manuel|||0000-0003-3337-0756, Olona, Carles|||0000-0001-6352-7270, Hernández Granados, Pilar|||0000-0001-8998-5165, Pereira-Rodríguez, José Antonio|||0000-0003-2457-6955
Formato: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Recursos:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:324168
Acesso em linha:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/324168
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1016/j.cireng.2025.800211
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Hernia
Incisional
Superspecialist
Non-superspecialist
Surgery
Abdominal wall
Superespecialista
No-superespecialista
Cirugía
Pared abdominal
Descrição
Resumo:Introduction: General surgery is undergoing progressive super-specialization with conditions previously managed by general surgeons now being treated by super-specialists (SS). No universal criteria currently exist to define abdominal wall surgery super-specialization (AWS-SS), and the designation remains a self-reported classification. The aim of our paper is to evaluate the outcomes of incisional hernia (IH) procedures in the context of super-specialization or not, focusing on complications and recurrence rates. Methods: All patients who underwent elective and emergency IH repair with mesh between 2017 and 2022 were included in the Spanish IH registry (EVEREG database). At the time of data inclusion, surgeons selfidentified as eithersuper-specialists or not (SS vs NSS), using no predefined criteria. Patients were divided into 2 groups: those performed by SS or NSS. Using a 1:1 matched analysis, differences in the incidence of complications and recurrence rates within 30 days, 6 months, one year, or 2 years of follow up were compared. Results: A total of 6231 IH procedures were analyzed, 3441 (55.2%) of which were recorded as having been performed in the presence of a super-specialist. After matching, 4680 IH procedures were included in the final analysis. IH repairs performed in the presence of a super specialist were associated with a lower incidence of surgical site occurrences (SSO), reduced recurrence rates within the first 2 years of follow-up, and lower rates of bulging and overall complications. Conclusions: Involvement of a super-specialist in the repair of an IH can be associated with lower complication rates and reduced recurrence.