title: Outcomes of open intraperitoneal incisional hernia repair based on patient-reported outcomes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The outcomes of open incisional hernia repair from the patients' point of view have variations over time, and only continuous follow-up would reflect the real outcomes. The purpose of this study is to validate a standard measurement instrument in the form of a questionnaire to report the evolutionary outcomes of a specific open technique to repair incisional hernias.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective study follows up a cohort of 82 consecutive patients submitted to elective intraperitoneal open hernioplasty of midline incisional hernias. The follow-up consisted in an interview and physical examination 30 days after surgery, at 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, and 4 years. Primary outcome measure was reporting the outcomes of hernia repair according to a standardized scale obtained from a questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was no correlation between complications suffered by patients and score results (p = 0.722). The length of hospital stay was 6.5 ± 4.3 days, and a prolonged hospital stay was related to complications (p = 0.002) and did not influence the score results (p = 0.365). The final score demonstrated that patients had a very good impression on this procedure 1 month after surgery (p = 0.003). This impression shifted to an excellent perception 1 year after surgery remaining similar until the last control (p < 0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this series, the intraperitoneal hernioplasty was a procedure associated with minor morbidity and without recurrences 4 years after the operation. The outcomes from the patients' point of view were excellent 1 year after the procedure with a tendency to improve in the long term.
authors.affiliation: Hernia Surgical Unit, Department of Surgery, Hospital de La Serena, Manuel Antonio Caro 2629, P.O. Box 912, La Serena, IV Region, Chile, beltran_01@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Beltrán
authors.forename: M-P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Rioseco
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Molina
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vera
authors.forename: F R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Arcos
mesh_terms: D034861:Abdominal Wall / Q000601:surgery*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D046449:Hernia, Abdominal / Q000601:surgery*; D059685:Herniorrhaphy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D063868:Patient Outcome Assessment; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000601:surgery*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013526:Surgical Mesh; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome