title: Ventral hernia repair with simultaneous panniculectomy.
abstract: The repair of a ventral hernia in an obese patient presents an interesting clinical challenge. We retrospectively reviewed the charts of 55 patients who, over a 12-year period from 1983 to 1995, concomitantly underwent both ventral herniorrhaphy and panniculectomy or abdominoplasty. In six of 55 patients, the hernia was recurrent. Forty-six patients had primary abdominal wall hernias or diastasis recti. Nineteen of 55 patients had weight greater than 200 lbs. This last subset of patients had a significantly higher incidence of complications, such as seroma, cellulitis, and persistent wound drainage. In our 55 patients, we experienced only two hernia recurrences (3.6%) during an average patient follow-up of 53 weeks. From this experience, we believe that simultaneous ventral hernia repair and panniculectomy is a safe and efficacious approach to these two problems so commonly found in the obese patient. Patients with a preoperative weight greater than 200 lbs can be expected to have a greater risk of wound complications. In all cases, the wounds eventually healed with no long-term sequelae.
authors.affiliation: Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Pennsylvania State University, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, USA.
authors.forename: K C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Weider
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hopkins
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Antonetti
authors.forename: E K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Manders
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dunn
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000601:surgery*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006555:Hernia, Ventral / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D016896:Treatment Outcome