Incisional Hernia Prevention: Risk-benefit From a Patient's Perspective

Incisional hernias are bulges through the abdominal wall that occur at the site of previous surgery. They are common, affecting between 12-20% of patients undergoing abdominal surgery, can pose a significant cost to the NHS and cause serious morbidity to patients.

Risk-prediction tools are being developed with the aim of working out a person's risk of developing an incisional hernia before their operation. It is hoped that this will allow surgeons to give patients an idea of what their risk is before the operation happens so that patients can understand if they are at high, medium or low risk, and what they might be able to do about it before the operation.

For patients that are "high risk" for developing an incisional hernia, it may be possible to use a synthetic mesh, similar to those used to fix groin hernias. This would be placed in the wound at the end of the initial operation to strengthen the wound to try and reduce the chance of developing an incisional hernia, however to date, no studies have looked at whether patients would find this acceptable.

This study aims to establish whether mesh placed to prevent hernias during the initial surgery would be acceptable to patients. This, in turn, can be used to inform the design of future research studies surrounding the use of surgical mesh.

Inclusion criteria

Group 1 Patients who have previously undergone abdominal surgery, and subsequently developed incisional hernia.

• Over the age of 18 years old
• Able and willing to provide valid informed consent
• Undergone elective or emergency colonic resection >12 months ago
• Clinical or radiological diagnosis of incisional hernia.

Where possible, patients will only be approached to participate where their clinical record indicates they are aware that they have a diagnosis of incisional hernia.

Group 2 Patients who have undergone abdominal surgery, but have not subsequently developed incisional hernia.

• Over the age of 18 years old
• Able and willing to provide valid informed consent
• Undergone emergency abdominal surgery > 12 months ago OR elective colonic resection > 12 months ago
• Do not have a clinical or radiological diagnosis of Incisional hernia (or suspected incisional hernia)

Group 3 Patients who are due to undergo abdominal surgery, who may or may not subsequently develop incisional hernia.

• Over the age of 18 years old
• Able and willing to provide valid informed consent
• Scheduled for elective colonic resection in Cardiff and Vale UHB.
• No history of previous laparotomy.

Where possible, attempts will be made to identify patients undergoing colonic resection for benign disease.

Exclusion criteria

All participants (groups 1, 2 & 3)

• Unable or unwilling to give informed consent
• Palliative diagnosis either at time of surgery, or since
• Inability to understand or complete study questionnaires, due to intellectual or cognitive impairment or due to insufficient English-language skills