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Purpose: Managing postoperative pain remains a significant challenge in hernia operations. With ventral hernia repair (VHR) being one of the most commonly performed procedures, this study aimed to compare the effectiveness of non-opioid analgesia to opioid-based regimens for postoperative pain management., Methods: The Abdominal Core Health Quality Collaborative was queried for elective VHR patients between 2019-2022. Subjects prescribed opioid or non-opioid analgesics at discharge were matched using a propensity score. Postoperative Hernia-Related Quality of Life Survey (HerQLes) summary scores, Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS) 3a questionnaire, and clinical outcomes were compared between the two groups., Results: 1,051 patients who underwent VHR met the study criteria. The 2:1 matched demographics were opioids (n = 188) and non-opioids (n = 94) (median age 63, 48% females, 91% white, and 6.5 cm hernia length). Long-term (1-year post-operation) patients' pain levels were similar between opioids vs non-opioids (median (IQR): 31(31-40) vs. 31(31-40), p = 0.46), and HerQLes summary scores were similar (92(78-100) vs. 90(59-95), p = 0.052). Clinical short-term (30-days post-operation) outcomes between opioid vs non-opioid patients had similar length-of-stay (1(0-5) vs 2(0-6), P = 0.089), readmissions (3% vs. 1%, P = 0.28), recurrences (0% vs. 0%, P = 1), reoperations (1% vs. 0%, P = 0.55), surgical site infections (3% vs. 7%, P = 0.11), surgical site occurrences (5% vs. 6%, P = 0.57), and surgical site occurrences requiring procedural intervention (3% vs. 6%, P = 0.13). Finally, long-term recurrence rates were similar (12% vs. 12%, P = 1)., Conclusion: Non-opioid postoperative regimens for analgesia are non-inferior to opioids in VHR patients with similar outcomes. Aggressive efforts should be undertaken to reduce opioid use in this population., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Purpose: The study objective is to document value created by real-world evidence from the Abdominal Core Health Quality Collaborative (ACHQC) for regulatory decisions. The ACHQC is a national effort that generates data on hernia repair techniques and devices., Methods: Two retrospective cohort evaluations compared cost and time of ACHQC analyses to traditional postmarket studies. The first analysis was based on 25 reports submitted to the European Medicines Agency of 20 mesh products for post-market surveillance. A second analysis supported label expansion submitted to the Food and Drug Administration, Center for Devices and Radiological Health for a robotic-assisted surgery device to include ventral hernia repair. Estimated costs of counterfactual studies, defined as studies that might have been done if the registry had not been available, were derived from a model described in the literature. Return on investment, percentage of cost savings, and time savings were calculated., Results: 45,010 patients contributed to the two analyses. The cost and time differences between individual 25 ACHQC analyses (41,112 patients) and traditional studies ranged from $1.3 to $2.2 million and from 3 to 4.8 years, both favoring use of the ACHQC. In the second label expansion analysis (3,898 patients), the estimated return on investment ranged from 11 to 461% with time savings of 5.1 years favoring use of the ACHQC., Conclusions: Compared to traditional postmarket studies, use of ACHQC data can result in cost and time savings when used for appropriate regulatory decisions in light of key assumptions., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objective: We aimed to determine whether n-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate (NB2C) adhesive is a safe and effective mechanism for nonpenetrating mesh and peritoneal fixation during laparoscopic groin hernia repair., Background: Chronic pain after laparoscopic groin hernia repair has been associated with penetrating fixation, but there had been no US Food and Drug Administration-approved devices for nonpenetrating fixation in this context., Methods: Patients undergoing laparoscopic transabdominal preperitoneal (TAP) or totally extraperitoneal (TEP) groin hernia repair with mesh at 1 of 5 academic medical centers were randomized to mesh (TAP/TEP) and peritoneal (TAP) fixation with NB2C adhesive or absorbable tacks. The primary outcome was improvement in pain (visual analog scale [VAS]) at 6 months. The noninferiority margin was 0.9 (α = 0.025; β = 80%). Recurrence, successful use of the device, quality of life, and rates of adverse events (AEs) were secondary outcomes., Results: From 2019 to 2021, 284 patients were randomized to either NB2C adhesive or absorbable tacks (n = 142/142). Patient and hernia characteristics were comparable, and 65% were repaired using a TAP approach. The difference in VAS improvement at 6 months with NB2C adhesive was not inferior to absorbable tacks in intention-to-treat and per-protocol analyses, respectively (0.25 [95% CI, -0.33 to 0.82]; P = 0.013; 0.22 [95% CI, -0.36 to 0.80], noninferiority P = 0.011). There were no differences in secondary outcomes including recurrence, successful use of each device to fixate the mesh and peritoneum, quality of life, and additional VAS pain scores. Rates of adverse and serious AEs were also comparable., Conclusions: NB2C adhesive is safe and effective for mesh fixation and peritoneal closure during laparoscopic groin hernia repair., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Background: Ventral hernia repair (VHR) is one of the most common general surgery procedures among older adults but is often deferred due to a higher risk of complications. This study compares postoperative quality of life (QOL) and complications between frail and non-frail patients undergoing elective VHR. We hypothesized that frail patients would have higher complication rates and smaller gains in quality of life compared to non-frail patients., Study Design: Patients 65 years of age and older, undergoing elective VHR between 2018 and 2022 were selected from the ACHQC (Abdominal Core Health Quality Collaborative) and grouped based on frailty scores obtained using the Modified Frailty Index (mFI-5). Logistic regression adjusting for hernia characteristics (size, recurrent, parastomal, incisional) were performed for 30-day outcomes including surgical site infections (SSI), surgical site occurrences (SSO), surgical site infections/occurrences requiring procedural intervention (SSOPI), and readmission. Multivariable analyses controlling for patient and procedure characteristics were performed comparing QOL scores (HerQLes scale, 0-100) at baseline, 30 days, 6 months and 1 year postoperatively., Results: A total of 4888 patients were included, 29.17% non-frail, 47.87% frail, and 22.95% severely frail. On adjusted analysis, severely frail patients had higher odds of SSO (most commonly seroma formation) but no evidence of a difference in SSI, SSOPI, readmission or mortality. Severely frail patients had lower median QOL scores at baseline (48.3/100, IQR 26.1-71.7, p ​= ​0.001) but reported higher QOL scores at both 30-days (68.3/100, IQR 41.7-88.3, p ​= ​0.01) and 6-months (86.7/100, IQR 65.0-93.3, p ​= ​0.005)., Conclusion: Severely frail patients reported similar increases in QOL and similar complications to their not frail counterparts. Our results demonstrate that appropriately selected older patients, even those who are severely frail, may benefit from elective VHR in the appropriate clinical circumstance., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest This research, through Dr. Collins, was supported by the National Institutes of HealthNational Institute of Aging (NIA) [grant number R03AG074072]. Dr. Benjamin Poulose has received research support from the Bard-Davol and Advanced Medical Solutions. He received consulting fees from Ethicon and receives salary support from the ACHQC as the ACHQC Director of Quality and Outcomes. ACHQC Foundation is supported by Bard-Davol, Allergan, Medtronic, W.L. Gore, Ethicon, and TelaBio. Dr. Benjamin Poulose received salary support from ACHQC and research grant support from BD Interventional and Advanced Medical Solutions. Dr. Alison Whalen, Savanah Renshaw, Molly Olson, and Sahana Holla have no conflicts of interest or financial ties to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The clinical and financial impact of surgical site infection after ventral hernia repair is significant. Here we investigate the impact of dual antibiotic irrigation on SSI after VHR., Methods: This was a multicenter, prospective randomized control trial of open retromuscular VHR with mesh. Patients were randomized to gentamicin ​+ ​clindamycin (G ​+ ​C) (n ​= ​125) vs saline (n ​= ​125) irrigation at time of mesh placement. Primary outcome was 30-day SSI., Results: No significant difference was seen in SSI between control and antibiotic irrigation (9.91 vs 9.09 ​%; p ​= ​0.836). No differences were seen in secondary outcomes: SSO (11.71 vs 13.64 ​%; p ​= ​0.667); 90-day SSO (11.1 vs 13.9 ​%; p ​= ​0.603); 90-day SSI (6.9 vs 3.8 ​%; p ​= ​0.389); SSIPI (7.21 vs 7.27 ​%, p ​= ​0.985); SSOPI (3.6 vs 3.64 ​%; p ​= ​0.990); 30-day readmission (9.91 vs 6.36 ​%; p ​= ​0.335); reoperation (5.41 vs 0.91 ​%; p ​= ​0.056)., Conclusion: Dual antibiotic irrigation with G ​+ ​C did not reduce the risk of surgical site infection during open retromuscular ventral hernia repair., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The following authors have outside financial interests: Intuitive (Warren, Beffa, Prabhu, Nikolian, Pauli, Carbonell), Johnson and Johnson/Ethicon (Warren), Surgimatrix (Petro, Prabhu), Bard-Davol (Petro, Horne, Poulose), Advanced Medical Solutions Group (Petro, Poulose), CMR Surgical (Prabhu), Abdominal Core Health Quality Collaborative (Rosen, Poulose), Ariste Medical (Rosen), Medtronic (Nikolian, Pauli, Carbonell), Caresyntax (Nikolian), Beckton-Dickson (Pauli), Boston Scientific (Pauli), Actuated Medical (Pauli), Cook Biotech (Pauli), Neptune Medical (Pauli), Noah Medical (Pauli), Allergan (Pauli), ERBE (Pauli), Integra (Pauli), Steris (Pauli), Vicarious (Pauli), UpToDate (Pauli), Springer (Pauli), Deep Blue Medical Advances (Carbonell). The authors used no AI or AI assisted technologies in the writing process. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Ventral hernia repair is a common elective general surgery procedure among older patients, a population at greater risk of complications. Prior research has demonstrated improved quality of life in this population despite increased risk of complications. This study sought to assess the relationship between post-ventral hernia repair quality of life and patient frailty. We hypothesized that frail patients would report smaller gains in quality of life compared to the non-frail group., Methods: The Abdominal Core Health Quality Collaborative was used to identify a cohort of patients 65 years of age or older undergoing elective ventral hernia repair from 2018 to 2022. Patients were categorized based on their modified frailty index scores as not frail/prefrail, frail, and severely frail. Quality of life was assessed using a patient-reported 12-item scale preoperatively, 30 days, 6 months, and 1 year postoperatively., Results: A total of 3,479 patients were included: 30.93% non-frail, 47.17% frail, and 21.90% severely frail. Severely frail patients had lower quality of life scores at baseline (P = .001) but reported higher quality of life at both 30 days (1.24 points higher, 95% confidence interval (-1.51, 2.52), P = .010) and 6 months (0.92 points higher, 95% confidence interval (-2.29, 4.13), P = .005). Severely frail patients had higher rates of surgical site complications (P < .001) but no difference in 30-day readmissions., Conclusion: Our results found that frail patients reported the greatest increase in quality of life 1 year from baseline, showing that they, when selected appropriately, can gain equal benefits and have similar surgical outcomes as their non-frail counterparts., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: Ventral hernia repairs (VHR) are performed to restore the integrity of the abdominal wall. Fear of movement, or kinesiophobia, may develop in patients with ventral hernia due to pain and functional impairments, however it has not yet been objectively measured in this patient population. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that in patients with ventral hernia awaiting surgical repair, higher levels of kinesiophobia would be associated with poorer mobility, abdominal core function, and quality of life., Methods: Seventy-seven participants scheduled for ventral hernia repair were enrolled as part of an ongoing randomized controlled trial (NCT05142618). The Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (TSK-11) is an 11-item questionnaire that asks about fear of movement and physical activity restriction. Participants were split into groups based on their TSK-11 score (minimal, low, moderate to high). Primary outcome measures included the five-time sit-to-stand (5xSTS), Quiet Unstable Sitting Test (QUeST), and the Hernia-Related Quality-of-Life (HerQLeS) survey. A one-way ANOVA with a Bonferroni correction compared QUeST, 5xSTS, and HerQLes results between groups., Results: Groups were significantly different on 5xSTS (minimal: 11.4 ± 2.6 s, low: 13.8 ± 3.1 s, moderate to high: 17.8 ± 9.8 s; p = 0.001) and HerQLes (minimal: 58.0 ± 27.8, low: 49.4 ± 22.0, moderate to high: 30.6 ± 25.3; p = 0.003) but not QUeST (minimal: - 2.8 ± 2.5, low: - 6.8 ± 10.0, moderate to high: - 5.5 ± 5.0; p = 0.16)., Conclusion: Individuals with moderate to high kinesiophobia have worse pre-operative performance-based (5xSTS) and self-reported (HerQLes) function and quality of life than those with minimal and low kinesiophobia. Future research should examine the influence of kinesiophobia on post-operative outcomes as it may be a potent target for rehabilitation., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Introduction: Abdominal wall reconstruction (AWR) utilizes advanced myofascial releases to perform complex ventral hernia repair (VHR). The relationship between the performance of AWR and disparities in insurance type is unknown., Methods: The Abdominal Core Health Quality Collaborative was queried for adults who had undergone an elective VHR between 2013 and 2020 with a hernia size ≥10 cm. Patients with missing insurance data were excluded. Comparison groups were divided by insurance type: favorable (private, Medicare, Veteran's Administration, Tricare) or unfavorable (Medicaid and self-pay). Propensity score matching compared the cumulative incidence of AWR between the favorable and unfavorable insurance comparison groups., Results: In total, 26,447 subjects met inclusion criteria. The majority (89%, n = 23,617) had favorable insurance, while (11%, n = 2830) had unfavorable insurance. After propensity score matching, 2821 patients with unfavorable insurance were matched to 7875 patients with favorable insurance. The rate of AWR with external oblique release or transversus abdominis release was significantly higher (23%, n = 655) among the unfavorable insurance group compared to those with favorable insurance (21%, n = 1651; P = 0.013)., Conclusions: This study provides evidence that patients with unfavorable insurance may undergo AWR with external oblique or transversus abdominis release at a greater rate than similar patients with favorable insurance. Understanding the mechanisms contributing to this difference and evaluating the financial implications of these trends represent important directions for future research in elective VHR., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Background: Permanent synthetic meshes such as polypropylene (PP) have been utilized for hernia repair for decades, but concerns remain regarding potential long-term, mesh-related complications. A resorbable polymer such as poly-4-hydroxybutyrate (P4HB) represents an alternative with high initial strength, that gradually resorbs, leaving an abdominal wall that is at least as strong as it would be in its native state. We aimed to compare early wound morbidity and clinical outcomes associated with P4HB to traditional, permanent PP in umbilical and small to medium, routine ventral hernias using data from the Abdominal Core Health Quality Collaborative (ACHQC)., Methods: Inclusion criteria for the umbilical cohort included: all Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) wound classes, all Ventral Hernia Working Group (VHWG) hernia grades, and hernia defects <3 cm. The small to medium, routine ventral hernia cohort was limited to CDC class I wounds, VHWG hernia grades I and II, and hernia defects <5 cm. The study group was comprised of P4HB meshes; the comparator group was an aggregate of PP meshes. Clinical outcomes were assessed at 30 days., Results: There was no significant difference in early wound morbidity, readmission, or reoperation between the P4HB and PP cohorts. A small number of patients experienced SSO, with ≤4% requiring procedural intervention. None of the patients (0% in all cases) experienced skin/soft tissue necrosis, infected seroma, infected hematoma, exposed/contaminated/infected mesh, enterocutaneous fistula, graft failure, or pain requiring intervention at 30-days. However, P4HB was associated with significantly greater operative time, length of stay, and use of myofascial release compared to PP ( p  < 0.05 in all cases)., Conclusions: Short-term clinical outcomes associated with resorbable P4HB mesh are comparable to permanent synthetic PP mesh in umbilical and small to medium, routine ventral hernia repairs, despite significant differences in operative time and length of stay. Longer-term follow-up is needed to expand on the clinical relevance of these short-term findings., Competing Interests: CD reports consulting fees from BD during the conduct of the study. CD also reports consulting fees from BD, Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, SurgiMatrix, Tissium, Surgical Innovation Associates, Americas Hernia Society Quality Collaborative, Colorado Therapeutics, TelaBio, Osteogenics, Polynovo, MedSkin Solutions, and Aran Biomedical outside the submitted work. In addition, CD is the owner of Covalent Bio, LLC and holds the following issued patents: 2009293001, 2334257, 2,334,257UK, 602009046407.8, 2,334,257FR, 16/043,849 and 2,737,542. MR reports salary support from the ACHQC and stock options from Ariste Medical. BP reports salary support from the ACHQC and research support from BD and Advanced Medical Solutions. KB reports employment by Becton Dickinson (BD) during the conduct of this study, as well as outside of the current work. AB reports employment by Becton Dickinson (BD) during the conduct of this study, as well as outside of the current work. L-CH has nothing to disclose. JM reports salary support from the ACHQC., (© 2023 Deeken, Rosen, Poulose, Bradbury, Huang, Ma and Badhwar.)

Abdominal core health encompasses the stability and function of the abdominal core and associated quality of life. Interventions to maintain core health include surgical and non-surgical therapies that integrate the functional relatedness of the abdominal core components., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Hernia disease is one of the most common reasons patients seek surgical treatment, yet nearly 1 in 4 patients seeking ventral hernia repair in the United States suffer from chronic pain, disability, and diminished physical activity. The relationships between the anterior abdominal wall, lower back, diaphragm, and pelvic floor are critical in providing function and quality of life, yet management of hernia disease has been limited to surgical restoration of anatomy without taking into consideration the functional relationships of the abdominal core. Therefore, the primary goal of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of implementing physical therapy targeted to improving stability and function in this population. A secondary goal is to estimate whether pre-operative abdominal core function predicts responsiveness to physical therapy. This study is a registry-based randomized controlled trial (NCT05142618: Pilot Trial of Abdominal Core Rehabilitation To Improve Outcomes After Ventral Hernia Repair (ABVENTURE-P)). All participants will be randomized to one of two post-operative treatment arms: standard of care plus up to 16 sessions of physical therapy, or standard of care alone. Primary timepoints include pre-operative (baseline) and ten weeks after surgery, with intermediate or secondary timepoints 30 days, 6 months, and 1 year post-operative. At each timepoint, participants will undergo functional and patient-reported outcome testing. We will also collect data on retention rate and treatment adherence. An intention to treat approach is planned for all analyses, using all participants who were randomized and have available data at the 10-week timepoint. This is a pilot and feasibility trial, hence our goals are to establish safety and initial efficacy of the PT intervention, retention and adherence to both PT and control arms, whether pre-operative abdominal core function predicts responsiveness to PT, and to collect a large enough sample to power a future definitive multi-center randomized controlled trial., Competing Interests: I have read the journal’s policy and the authors of this manuscript have the following competing interests: Benjamin K. Poulose receives salary support as Vice President of the Board of the Abdominal Core Health Quality Collaborative and is an equity holder in EndoEvolve, LLC. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials., (Copyright: © 2023 Di Stasi et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: We sought to identify the 10-year complication and recurrence rates and associated sociodemographic and operative characteristics associated with non-mesh versus mesh-based ventral hernia repairs (VHRs)., Methods: This was an IRB-approved (2020H0317) retrospective longitudinal study of patients undergoing mesh or non-mesh VHR from 2009-2019 at a single tertiary-care institution. The electronic medical record was used to collect sociodemographic, clinical, and intraoperative details, and early (≤ 30 days) and long-term (> 30-day) postoperative complications. Up to ten-year follow-up was obtained for long-term complications, categorized as: hernia recurrence reoperation (HRR), major complications requiring emergency surgery (MCES) (defined as non-elective operations related to the abdominal wall), and non-recurrence procedural intervention (NRPI) (defined as any procedures related to the abdominal wall, bowel, or mesh). Kaplan-Meier survival curves were obtained for each long-term complication., Results: Of the 645 patients identified, the mean age at index operation was 52.51 ± 13.57 years with 50.70% female. Of the index operations, 21.24% were for a recurrence. Procedure categories included: 57.36% incisional, 37.21% non-incisional umbilical, 8.22% non-incisional epigastric, 3.88% parastomal, 0.93% diastasis recti, and 0.47% Spigelian hernias. Operative approaches included open (n = 383), laparoscopic (n = 267), and robotic (n = 21). Fascial closure (81.55%) and mesh use (66.2%) were performed in the majority of cases. Median follow-up time was 2098 days (interquartile range 1320-2806). The rate of short-term complications was 4.81% for surgical site infections, 15.04% for surgical site occurrences, and 13.64% for other complications. At 10 years, the HRR-free survival probability was 85.26%, MCES-free survival probability was 94.44%, and NRPI-free survival probability was 78.11%., Conclusions: A high proportion of patients experienced long-term recurrence and complications requiring intervention after index VHR. For many patients, a ventral hernia develops into a chronic medical condition. Improved efforts at post-market surveillance of operative approaches and mesh location and type should be undertaken to help optimize outcomes., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Purpose: Ventral hernia repair (VHR) postoperative complications vary in presentation, management, and severity. The aim of this study is to determine the impact of individual postoperative complications on long-term quality of life (QoL) after VHR., Methods: Data from the Abdominal Core Health Quality Collaborative were analyzed retrospectively. Propensity score matching compared 1-year postoperative Hernia-Related Quality of Life Survey (HerQLes) summary scores between non-wound events (NWE), surgical site infection (SSI), and surgical site occurrence requiring procedural intervention (SSOPI) versus No-Complications., Results: 2796 patients who underwent VHR between 2013 and 2022 met the study criteria. Patients with SSI and SSOPI had lower QoL vs No-Complications (median (Interquartile range): 71 (40-92) vs 83 (52-94), P = 0.02; 68 (40-90) vs 78 (55-95), P = 0.008). NWE vs no-complications HerQLes score differences were similar (83 (53-92) vs 83 (60-93), P = 0.19)., Conclusion: Wound events seem to have larger impact on patients' long-term QoL compared to NWE. Continued and aggressive efforts including preoperative optimization, technical points, and appropriate use of minimally invasive techniques can continue to reduce impactful wound events., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag France SAS, part of Springer Nature.)

Introduction: Nerve damage has been implicated in chronic groin pain, particularly iliohypogastric, ilioinguinal, and genital branches of genitofemoral nerves. We investigated whether three nerve identification (3N) and preservation is associated with decreased pain 6 mo after hernia repair compared to two common strategies of nerve management: ilioinguinal nerve identification (1N) and two nerve identification (2N)., Methods: We identified adult inguinal hernia patients within the Abdominal Core Health Quality Collaborative national database. Six-month postoperative pain was defined using the EuraHS Quality of Life tool. A proportional odds model was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and expected mean differences in 6-month pain for nerve management while adjusting for confounders identified a priori., Results: Four thousand four hundred fifty one participants were analyzed; 358 (3N), 1731 (1N), and 2362 (2N) consisting mostly of White males (84%) over the age of 60 y old. Academic centers identified all three nerves more often than ilioinguinal or two nerve identification methods. Median 6-month postoperative pain scores were 0 [interquartile range 0-2] for all nerve management groups (P = 0.51 3N versus 1N and 3N versus 2N). There was no evidence of a difference in the odds of higher 6-month pain score in nerve management methods after adjustment (3N versus 1N OR: 0.95; 95% confidence interval 0.36-1.95, 3N versus 2N OR: 1.00; 95% confidence interval 0.50-1.85)., Conclusions: Although guidelines emphasize three nerve preservation, the management strategies evaluated were not associated with statistically significant differences in pain 6 mo after operation. These findings suggest that nerve manipulation may not contribute as a significant role in chronic groin pain after open inguinal hernia repair., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Background: Social cohesion and neighborhood support have been linked to improved health in a variety of fields, but is not well-studied among the elderly population. This is particularly evident in surgical populations. Therefore, this study sought to assess the potential role of community distress in predicting early hernia recurrence among older adults., Methods: The Abdominal Core Health Quality Collaborative (ACHQC) was used to identify patients aged 65 or older undergoing elective ventral hernia repair with zip code data available. Patients were linked to the Distressed Communities Index (DCI), which is a national database that assigns a score of 0-100 to each zip code based on 7 measures of neighborhood prosperity. Quintiles were used to compare groups: prosperous (0-20), comfortable (21-40), mid-tier (41-60), at-risk (61-80), and distressed (81-100). Distressed (0-20), at-risk (21-40), mid-tier (41-60), comfortable (61-80), and prosperous (81-100). Time to recurrence for neighborhood distress quintiles was examined using a Cox proportional hazards model., Results: In total, 9819 patients were included in the study, including 3056 (31.1%) prosperous, 2307 (23.5%) comfortable, 1795 (18.2%) mid-tier, 1390 (14.2%) at-risk, and 1271 (12.9%) distressed. Distressed communities had lower mean age and greater proportion of racial minorities (p < 0.001). Open repairs were significantly more common among the distressed group (66.7%), as were all comorbidities (p < 0.001). Recurrence-free survival was shorter for distressed communities compared to prosperous after adjusting for baseline characteristics (HR 1.3, 95% CI 1.07-1.67, p = 0.01). Mean time to recurrence was lowest for patients living in distressed communities, indicating the worst recurrence rates, while mean time to recurrence was greatest for those in prosperous zip codes (p < 0.001)., Conclusion: Older VHR patients presenting from distressed zip codes, as identified by the Distressed Communities Index, experience hernia recurrence significantly sooner as compared to patients from prosperous zip codes. This study may provide evidence of the role of neighborhood and environmental factors in caring for older patients following VHR., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Prehospital chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) skin washes are used to prevent wound complications, but little evidence supports this practice in hernia surgery. A propensity-matched retrospective review published by our group in 2016 found that prehospital CHG was associated with an increased risk of surgical site occurrences (SSO) and surgical site infections (SSI) after ventral hernia repair. Prehospital CHG was, therefore, abandoned by three of five surgeons at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation (CCF) by April 2017. We aimed to determine if discontinuation of prehospital CHG affected wound morbidity rates after incisional hernia repair., Methods: The Abdominal Core Health Quality Collaborative was queried for all patients who underwent open, clean incisional hernia repairs with 30-day follow-up from 2014 to 2019. Using an interrupted time series (ITS) analysis model adjusted for group and mean propensity score, wound morbidity before and after April 1, 2017 (start of Q2) was compared between three groups: CCF surgeons who abandoned prehospital CHG (Group 1), CCF surgeons who continued using prehospital CHG (Group 2), and non-CCF surgeons using prehospital CHG (Group 3). Outcomes included rates of SSOs, SSIs, and surgical site occurrences requiring procedural intervention (SSOPI) at 30 days., Results: In total, 4276 patients were included in the analysis (Group 1: 339 before Q2 vs 673 after Q2; Group 2: 211 before Q2 vs 175 after Q2; Group 3: 1312 before Q2 vs 1566 after Q2). Rates of SSO, SSIs, and SSOPIs at 30 days were similar across all three groups before and after prehospital CHG discontinuation., Conclusion: Stopping prehospital CHG wash did not result in increased wound morbidity after open, clean, incisional hernia repair. We have abandoned CHG use in this context., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag France SAS, part of Springer Nature.)

Purpose: To estimate the annual volume and cost of ventral hernia repair (VHR) performed in the United States., Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed using the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) and the Nationwide Ambulatory Surgery Sample (NASS) for 2016-2019. Patients over the age of 18 who underwent open (OVHR) or minimally invasive ventral hernia repair (MISVHR) were identified. NIS procedural costs were estimated using cost-to-charge ratios; NASS costs were estimated using the NIS cost-to-charge ratios stratified by payer status. Costs were adjusted for inflation to 2021 dollars using US Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index., Results: On average 610,998 VHRs were performed per year. Most were outpatient (67.3% per year), and open (70.7%). MIS procedures increased from 25.8% to 32.8% of all VHRs. Inpatient OVHR had significantly higher associated cost than MISVHR [$35,511 (34,100-36,921) vs. $21,165 (19,664-22,665 in 2019]. Outpatient MISVHR was more expensive than OVHR [$11,558 (11,174-11,942 MIS vs. $6807 (6620-6994) OVHR in 2019]. The estimated cost of an inpatient MISVHR remained similar between 2016 and 2019, from $20,076 (13,374-20,777) to $21,165 (19,664-22,665) and increased slightly from $9975 (9639-10,312) to $11,558 (11,174-11,942) in the outpatient setting. The estimated cost of an inpatient OVHR increased from $31,383 (30,338-32,428) to $35,511 (34,100-36,921), while outpatient costs increased from $6018 (5860-6175) to $6807 (6620-6994). VHR costs decreased slightly over the study period to a mean cost of $9.7 billion dollars in 2019., Conclusion: Compared to 2006 national data, VHRs in the United States have almost doubled to 611,000 per year with an estimated annual cost of $9.7 billion. A 1% decrease in VHR achieved through recurrence reduction or hernia prophylaxis could save the US healthcare system at least $139.9 million annually., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag France SAS, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: For small to medium-sized ventral hernias, robotic intraperitoneal onlay mesh (rIPOM) and enhanced-view totally extraperitoneal (eTEP) repair have emerged as acceptable approaches that each takes advantage of robotic instrumentation. We hypothesized that avoiding mesh fixation in a robotic eTEP repair offers an advantage in early postoperative pain compared to rIPOM., Methods: This is a multi-center, randomized clinical trial for patients with midline ventral hernias ≤ 7 cm, who were randomized to rIPOM or robotic eTEP. The primary outcome was pain (0-10) on the first postoperative day. Secondary outcomes included same-day discharge, length of stay, opioid consumption, quality of life, surgeon workload, and cost., Results: Between November 2019 and November 2021, 100 patients were randomized (49 rIPOM, 51 eTEP) among 5 surgeons. Pain on the first postoperative day [median (IQR): 5 (4-6) vs. 5 (3.5-7), p = 0.66] was similar for rIPOM and eTEP, respectively, a difference maintained following adjustments for surgeon, operative time, baseline pain, and patient co-morbidities (difference 0.28, 95% CI - 0.63 to 1.19, p = 0.56). No differences in pain on the day of surgery, 7, and 30 days after surgery were identified. Same-day discharge, length of stay, opioid consumption, and 30-day quality of life were also comparable, though rIPOM required less surgeon workload (p < 0.001), shorter operative time [107 (86-139) vs. 165 (129-212) min, p < 0.001], and resulted in fewer surgical site occurrences (0 vs. 8, p = 0.004). The total direct costs for rIPOM and eTEP were comparable [$8282 (6979-11835) vs. $8680 (7550-10282), p = 0.52] as the cost savings for eTEP attributable to mesh use [$442 (434-485) vs. $69 (62-76), p =  < 0.0001] were offset by increased expenses for operative time [$669 (579-861) vs. $1075 (787-1367), p < 0.0001] and use of more robotic equipment [$760 (615-933) vs. $946 (798-1203), p = 0.001]., Conclusion: The avoidance of fixation in a robotic eTEP repair did not reveal a benefit in postoperative pain to offset the shorter operative time and surgeon workload offered by rIPOM., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted many aspects of personal and professional life for surgeons, with resulting suspension of many in-person educational opportunities in favor of virtual education programs. Adapting to these new challenges, we developed, implemented, and evaluated a novel approach to Department of Surgery Grand Rounds to meet the educational needs of residents., Methods: At the outset of COVID-19-related restrictions, educational leadership performed a needs assessment of resident education, leading to a quick pivot to video-based programming. We developed "What Would You Do?" (WWYD), a virtual case-based educational session. Junior residents worked with senior residents, fellows, and faculty to develop disease-specific cases and questions, which were then presented to a panel of invited national subject experts. Feedback was collected from attendees after each grand rounds session via electronic survey, and the panel logistics and "flipped classroom" style of questioning iteratively adapted based on survey responses, verbal feedback, and educational principles. A department-wide survey was conducted at the end of the first year of virtual sessions to assess faculty and trainee perceptions of virtual vs. in-person didactics., Results: While COVID-19 educational materials were widely available, needs assessment found that surgical educational programming for trainees was dramatically reduced. Over a period of 24 months, we hosted twelve WWYD sessions with 20 internal faculty and 22 national virtual guest panelists. WWYD covered core surgical topics, such as hernia, colorectal, trauma, endocrine, vascular, foregut, and transplant. Weekly attendance ranged from 40 to 100, including faculty, trainees, and students. Attendees at WWYD grand rounds reported more strong agreement that speakers communicated effectively (93.7% vs. 79.8%, p < 0.0001), and that topics were engaging (92.4% vs. 78.5%, p  < 0.0001) and relevant (91.5% vs. 79.7%, p  < 0.0001), when compared to didactic virtual grand rounds. Department-wide survey noted differences in faculty vs. trainee priorities for didactic sessions, with faculty both finding virtual didactics more convenient (92.1% vs. 71.4% strong agreement, p  = 0.004) and more highly valuing convenience (89.7% vs. 69.1% highly value, p  = 0.005)., Conclusions: During an isolating time, the WWYD format leveraged affordances of a virtual platform to bring diverse content experts together for disease-specific discussions, aligning with problem-based, active learning pedagogical approaches which have proven more effective than lectures. Attendees found the format more engaging than virtual didactic lectures, but department-wide survey revealed a dichotomy of didactic priorities between faculty and trainees, with faculty more strongly favoring attendance convenience. WWYD is well-positioned to deliver a didactic educational experience with both engagement and convenience., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestAuthors Jennifer Underhill, Alan Harzman, and Emily Huang have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Author Benjamin Poulose has the following disclosures ACHQC-salary support, EndoEvolve LLC (ownership), BD Interventional (research support), Advanced Medical Solutions (research support)., (© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Association for Surgical Education 2022, Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

Background: In-person interviews have traditionally been an integral part of the fellowship application process to allow faculty and applicants to interact and evaluate the intangible aspects of the matching process. COVID-19 has forced a transition away from in-person interviews to a virtual platform. This study sought to track faculty and applicant perspectives on this transition. Study Design: Prospectively collected survey data was obtained from all participants after each of 3 consecutive virtual interview days for minimally invasive surgery fellowship at a single academic institution. Results : One hundred percent (27/27 applicants and 9/9 faculty) of interview participants completed the survey. Cost (100% applicants, 77.8% faculty) was perceived as the greatest barrier to in-person interviews, and "inability to get a feel for the program/applicant" was the largest concern for virtual interviews (66.7% applicants, 88.9% faculty). After interviews, most participants strongly agreed that they were able to assess education (66.7% applicants, 77.8% faculty), clinical experience (70.4% applicants, 77.8% faculty), and research potential (70.4% applicants, 88.9% faculty) through the virtual platform. Only 44.4% of each group strongly agreed that they could assess "overall fit" equally as well. Most faculty (6/9, 66.7%), but fewer applicants (10/27, 37.0%), were willing to completely eliminate in-person interviews. Conclusion : Virtual interviews may be an acceptable alternative to in-person interviews in times of COVID-19 and beyond. Offering a virtual format may help to eliminate costs associated with in-person visits while adequately assessing the fit of a program for both applicants and faculty, though applicants still desire an in-person option.

Background: Long-term resorbable mesh represents a promising technology for ventral and incisional hernia repair (VIHR). This study evaluates poly-4-hydroxybutyrate mesh (P4HB; Phasix Mesh) among comorbid patients with CDC class I wounds., Study Design: This prospective, multi-institutional study evaluated P4HB VIHR in comorbid patients with CDC class I wounds. Primary outcomes included hernia recurrence and surgical site infection. Secondary outcomes included pain, device-related adverse events, quality of life, reoperation, procedure time, and length of stay. Evaluations were scheduled at 1, 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, and 60 months. A time-to-event analysis (Kaplan-Meier) was performed for primary outcomes; secondary outcomes were reported as descriptive statistics., Results: A total of 121 patients (46 male, 75 female) 54.7 ± 12.0 years old with a BMI of 32.2 ± 4.5 kg/m 2 underwent VIHR with P4HB Mesh (mean ± SD). Fifty-four patients (44.6%) completed the 60-month follow-up. Primary outcomes (Kaplan-Meier estimates at 60 months) included recurrence (22.0 ± 4.5%; 95% CI 11.7% to 29.4%) and surgical site infection (10.1 ± 2.8%; 95% CI 3.3 to 14.0). Secondary outcomes included seroma requiring intervention (n = 9), procedure time (167.9 ± 82.5 minutes), length of stay (5.3 ± 5.3 days), reoperation (18 of 121, 14.9%), visual analogue scale-pain (change from baseline -3.16 ± 3.35 cm at 60 months; n = 52), and Carolinas Comfort Total Score (change from baseline -24.3 ± 21.4 at 60 months; n = 52)., Conclusions: Five-year outcomes after VIHR with P4HB mesh were associated with infrequent complications and durable hernia repair outcomes. This study provides a framework for anticipated long-term hernia repair outcomes when using P4HB mesh., (Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the American College of Surgeons.)

Objectives: Generating and using real-world evidence (RWE) is a pragmatic solution for evaluating health technologies. RWE is recognized by regulators, health technology assessors, clinicians, and manufacturers as a valid source of information to support their decision-making. Well-designed registries can provide RWE and become more powerful when linked with electronic health records and administrative databases in coordinated registry networks (CRNs). Our objective was to create a framework of maturity of CRNs and registries, so guiding their development and the prioritization of funding., Design Setting and Participants: We invited 52 stakeholders from diverse backgrounds including patient advocacy groups, academic, clinical, industry and regulatory experts to participate on a Delphi survey. Of those invited, 42 participated in the survey to provide feedback on the maturity framework for CRNs and registries. An expert panel reviewed the responses to refine the framework until the target consensus of 80% was reached. Two rounds of the Delphi were distributed via Qualtrics online platform from July to August 2020 and from October to November 2020., Main Outcome Measures: Consensus on the maturity framework for CRNs and registries consisted of seven domains (unique device identification, efficient data collection, data quality, product life cycle approach, governance and sustainability, quality improvement, and patient-reported outcomes), each presented with five levels of maturity., Results: Of 52 invited experts, 41 (79.9%) responded to round 1; all 41 responded to round 2; and consensus was reached for most domains. The expert panel resolved the disagreements and final consensus estimates ranged from 80.5% to 92.7% for seven domains., Conclusions: We have developed a robust framework to assess the maturity of any CRN (or registry) to provide reliable RWE. This framework will promote harmonization of approaches to RWE generation across different disciplines and health systems. The domains and their levels may evolve over time as new solutions become available., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: Sex is emerging as an important clinical variable associated with surgical outcomes and decision making. However, its relevance in regard to baseline and treatment differences in primary and incisional ventral hernia repair remains unclear., Study Design: This is a retrospective cohort study using the Abdominal Core Health Quality Collaborative database to identify elective umbilical, epigastric, or incisional hernia repairs. Propensity matching was performed to investigate confounder-adjusted treatment differences between men and women. Treatments of interest included surgical approach (minimally invasive or open), mesh use, mesh type, mesh position, anesthesia type, myofascial release, fascial closure, and fixation use., Results: A total of 8,489 umbilical, 1,801 epigastric, and 16,626 incisional hernia repairs were identified. Women undergoing primary ventral hernia repair were younger (umbilical 46.4 vs 54 years, epigastric 48.7 vs 52.7 years), with lower BMI (umbilical 30.4 vs 31.5, epigastric 29.2 vs 31.1), and less likely diabetic (umbilical 9.9% vs 11.4%, epigastric 6.8% vs 8.8%). Women undergoing incisional hernia repair were also younger (mean 57.5 vs 59.1 years), but with higher BMI (33.1 vs 31.5), and more likely diabetic (21.4% vs 19.1%). Propensity-matched analysis included 3,644 umbilical, 1,232 epigastric, and 12,480 incisional hernias. Women with incisional hernia were less likely to undergo an open repair (60.2% vs 63.4%, p < 0.001) and have mesh used (93.8% vs 94.8%, p = 0.02). In umbilical and incisional hernia repairs, women had higher rates of intraperitoneal mesh placement and men had higher rates of preperitoneal and retro-muscular mesh placement., Conclusions: Small but statistically significant treatment differences in operative approach, mesh use, and mesh position exist between men and women undergoing ventral hernia repair. It remains unknown whether these treatment differences result in differing clinical outcomes., (Copyright © 2022 by the American College of Surgeons. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Parastomal hernias are often repaired with mesh to reduce recurrences, but the presence of an ostomy increases the wound class from clean to clean-contaminated/contaminated and makes the choice of mesh more controversial than in a strictly clean case. We aimed to compare the outcomes of biologic and synthetic mesh for parastomal hernia repair., Study Design: This is a post hoc analysis of parastomal hernia repairs in a randomized trial comparing biologic and synthetic mesh in contaminated ventral hernia repairs. Outcomes included rates of surgical site occurrences requiring procedural intervention (SSOPI), reoperations, stoma/mesh-related adverse events, parastomal hernia recurrence rates (clinical, patient-reported, and radiographic) at 2 years, quality of life (EQ-5D, EQ-5D Visual Analog Scale, and Hernia-Related Quality of Life Survey), and hospital costs up to 30 days., Results: A total of 108 patients underwent parastomal hernia repair (57 biologic [53%] and 51 synthetic [47%]). Demographic and hernia characteristics were similar between the two groups. No significant differences in SSOPI rates or reoperations were observed between mesh types. Four mesh erosions into an ostomy requiring reoperations (2 biologic vs 2 synthetic) occurred. At 2 years, parastomal hernia recurrence rates were similar for biologic and synthetic mesh (17 [29.8%] vs 13 [25.5%], respectively; p = .77). Overall and hernia-related quality of life improved from baseline and were similar between the two groups at 2 years. Median total hospital cost and median mesh cost were higher for biologic compared with synthetic mesh., Conclusion: Biologic and synthetic mesh have similar wound morbidity, reoperations, 2-year hernia recurrence rates, and quality of life in parastomal hernia repairs. Cost should be considered in mesh choice for parastomal hernia repairs., (Copyright © 2022 by the American College of Surgeons. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Although there are many patient-reported outcome measures used for ventral hernia (VH), disease-specific instruments, such as the Hernia-related Quality-of-Life (QoL) Survey (HerQLes) and Abdominal Hernia-Q (AHQ), have shown greater accuracy in capturing all VH-related QoL. We present a novel calibration that allows providers to convert scores between the AHQ and HerQLes, enabling better unification of QoL data., Methods: Patients with VH were prospectively identified and simultaneously administered both the AHQ and HerQLes pre- and post-operatively. To ensure the validity of the calibration, responses were excluded if patients answered instruments on different dates or if the responses were discordant on corresponding questions within each instrument. The calibration was estimated using a linear mixed effects model, including linear and quadratic scores, timing of survey relative to surgery and their interactions as fixed effects, and patients as random effects to account for multiple surveys from the same patient., Results: In total, 109 patients were included, responding to 300 pairs of surveys (112 preoperative and 188 postoperative), of which 17 (5.6%) were excluded because of discordant responses. Conversion of the HerQLes to AHQ was most accurate when including whether the survey was completed pre- or post-operatively, with a mean squared error of 0.0091. Similarly, converting the AHQ to HerQLes was most accurate when factoring in the timing of survey administration, with a mean squared error of 0.016., Conclusions: We present a novel and accurate method to convert scores between the AHQ and HerQLes. Being able to unify QoL data from different PROMs supports efforts to more broadly integrate PROMs in surgery and to understand patient-defined measures of success., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Importance: Biologic mesh is widely used for reinforcing contaminated ventral hernia repairs; however, it is expensive and has been associated with high rates of long-term hernia recurrence. Synthetic mesh is a lower-cost alternative but its efficacy has not been rigorously studied in individuals with contaminated hernias., Objective: To determine whether synthetic mesh results in superior reduction in risk of hernia recurrence compared with biologic mesh during the single-stage repair of clean-contaminated and contaminated ventral hernias., Design, Setting, and Participants: This multicenter, single-blinded randomized clinical trial was conducted from December 2012 to April 2019 with a follow-up duration of 2 years. The trial was completed at 5 academic medical centers in the US with specialized units for abdominal wall reconstruction. A total of 253 adult patients with clean-contaminated or contaminated ventral hernias were enrolled in this trial. Follow-up was completed in April 2021., Interventions: Retromuscular synthetic or biologic mesh at the time of fascial closure., Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was the superiority of synthetic mesh vs biologic mesh at reducing risk of hernia recurrence at 2 years based on intent-to-treat analysis. Secondary outcomes included mesh safety, defined as the rate of surgical site occurrence requiring a procedural intervention, and 30-day hospital direct costs and prosthetic costs., Results: A total of 253 patients (median [IQR] age, 64 [55-70] years; 117 [46%] male) were randomized (126 to synthetic mesh and 127 to biologic mesh) and the follow-up rate was 92% at 2 years. Compared with biologic mesh, synthetic mesh significantly reduced the risk of hernia recurrence (hazard ratio, 0.31; 95% CI, 0.23-0.42; P < .001). The overall intent-to-treat hernia recurrence risk at 2 years was 13% (33 of 253 patients). Recurrence risk with biologic mesh was 20.5% (26 of 127 patients) and with synthetic mesh was 5.6% (7 of 126 patients), with an absolute risk reduction of 14.9% with the use of synthetic mesh (95% CI, -23.8% to -6.1%; P = .001). There was no significant difference in overall 2-year risk of surgical site occurrence requiring a procedural intervention between the groups (odds ratio, 1.22; 95% CI, 0.60-2.44; P = .58). Median (IQR) 30-day hospital direct costs were significantly greater in the biologic group vs the synthetic group ($44 936 [$35 877-$52 656] vs $17 289 [$14 643-$22 901], respectively; P < .001). There was also a significant difference in the price of the prosthetic device between the 2 groups (median [IQR] cost biologic, $21 539 [$20 285-$23 332] vs synthetic, $105 [$105-$118]; P < .001)., Conclusions and Relevance: Synthetic mesh demonstrated superior 2-year hernia recurrence risk compared with biologic mesh in patients undergoing single-stage repair of contaminated ventral hernias, and both meshes demonstrated similar safety profiles. The price of biologic mesh was over 200 times that of synthetic mesh for these outcomes., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02451176.

Background: To explore the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of patients with mesh-related complications after hernia repair. The rate of long-term mesh-related complications requiring procedural intervention after abdominal core surgery, including hernia repair, is unknown. Determining this rate is challenging due to its anticipated low chance of occuring and historically poor systematic long-term follow-up in patients' hernia repair. The lived experience of these patients is also not well understood., Methods: Purposive sampling was used to identify patients who have experienced mesh-related complications after hernia repair, and semistructured interviews were conducted. Descriptive thematic analysis was used to identify, analyze, and report common patterns across the data set related to the patient experience of mesh-related complications., Results: Eight patients who had undergone a hernia repair with mesh and had at least 1 mesh-related complication after their repair requiring operation, an additional procedure, or medical treatment were included in the study and completed semistructured interviews over the phone. Five domains emerged from the interviews: indicators of mesh-related complications, knowledge of potential surgical complications, relationship/satisfcation with surgeon and/or surgical team, psychosocial impact of hernia repair and mesh-related complications, and function., Conclusion: Despite the widespread use of mesh in abdominal wall operations, little is known regarding the patient experience of mesh-related complications. The themes identified in the present study provide insight into the patient experience of mesh-related complications and can inform the future development of a patient-reported outcome measure to determine the true incidence of mesh-related complications and the impact of these complications on quality of life., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: This article seeks to be a collection of evidence and experience-based information for health care providers around the country and world looking to build or improve an abdominal core health center. Abdominal core health has proven to be a chronic condition despite advancements in surgical technique, technology, and equipment. The need for a holistic approach has been discussed and thought to be necessary to improve the care of this complex patient population., Methods: Literature relevant to the key aspects of building an abdominal core health center was thoroughly reviewed by multiple members of our abdominal core health center. This information was combined with our authors' experiences to gather relevant information for those looking to build or improve a holistic abdominal core health center., Results: An abundance of publications have been combined with multiple members of our abdominal core health centers members experience's culminating in a wide breadth of information relevant to those looking to build or improve a holistic abdominal core health center., Conclusions: Evidence- and experience-based information has been collected to assist those looking to build or grow an abdominal core health center., (© 2022. The Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract.)

Background: An increasing proportion of ventral hernia patients are over age 65. These patients are frequently offered watchful waiting rather than surgical intervention due to their frail state or perioperative risk. However, many in this age group suffer from significant quality of life impacts that are not well understood., Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study using data from the Abdominal Core Health Quality Collaborative (ACHQC), including adults undergoing elective ventral hernia repair from 2013 to 2019. Median differences in Hernia-Related Quality of Life Survey (HerQLes) summary scores at baseline, 30-days, 6-months, and 1 year post operatively were compared in four age categories (18-40, 40-64, 65-75, 76 +) using multivariable regression. Secondary outcomes included major post-operative complications and mortality., Results: Of 6681 patients meeting inclusion criteria, 13.5% were 18-40, 55.8% were 41-64, 25.2% were 65-75, and 5% were 76 + . Patients in the 65-75 age group and those over 76 had higher mean baseline HerQLes scores (51.7 and 60.8) compared to those in the 18-40 and 41-64 groups (45 and 43.3, p < 0.01). Patients 65-75 had smaller increases in HerQLes scores at 30 days (6.7) compared to patients in the younger age groups (11.7 for 18-40; 8.3 for 41-64) and the oldest age group (8.3, p < 0.01). However, patients in the older age groups had higher overall median 1 year HerQles Scores (66.7 for 65-75; 78.3 for 76 +) compared to patients in the 18-40 and 41-64 age groups (65 and 58.3, p < 0.01). On multivariable analysis, HerQLes scores at 30 days post-surgery were decreased for patients in the 41-64 (-3.14, CE -5.89, -0.04, p = 0.03) and 65-75 (-4.53; CE -7.65, -1.41, p < 0.01) groups compared to the youngest age group, while those over 76 had no effect., Conclusion: Older adults undergoing ventral hernia repair demonstrate equal gains in hernia-related quality of life compared to younger patients and actually report higher quality of life scores at 30 days, 6 months and, 1 year post-surgery., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: The abdominal core is comprised of the diaphragm, abdominal wall, and pelvic floor, and serves several important functions for balance, movement, and strength. Injury to this area, such as hernia, can have substantial impact. The Quiet Unstable Sitting Test involves individuals seated on the rounded surface of a BOSU® balance trainer placed on top of a force plate and situated on a flat, elevated surface., Methods: An ordinal Quiet Unstable Sitting Test core stability score was calculated from center of pressure measurements, with 0 representing "normal" and < 0 indicating worsening stability. Hernia-Related Quality of Life survey summary scores were assessed (higher scores indicating better quality)., Findings: A developmental cohort of 32 was used to establish reliability and normative values for the Quiet Unstable Sitting Test. A control group of 32 participants (43.7 ± 16.2 yrs., BMI 29.0 ± 4.9, 66% Female) was then compared to 21 patients with hernia (56.2 ± 12.5 yrs., BMI 29.2 ± 6.3, 24% Female). Hernia patients had median composite score of -2 and median quality of life score of 66, versus median Quiet Unstable Sitting Test of -0.5 and median quality of life of 93 for controls (p ≤ 0.01). Quality of life and Quiet Unstable Sitting Test scores were not correlated (p > 0.05)., Interpretation: Hernia patients demonstrated significantly worse core stability and quality of life. These assessments were independent of one another across the entire population, indicating each measure's unique constructs of patient function. Core stability can be reliably measured in a clinical setting and may help with patient activation and rehabilitation., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Hernia-Related Quality of Life Survey (HerQLes) assesses quality of life (QoL) after hernia repair, but the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) is unknown., Methods: Using 2013-2019 data from the Abdominal Core Health Quality Collaborative, HerQLes summary scores were calculated for VHR patients at baseline and 1-year. MCID was calculated using distribution-based method. Multivariate regression identified factors associated with exceeding MCID at 1 year., Results: 1817 patients met criteria. MCID was identified as a change in HerQLes of at least 15.6 points. Mean 1-year post-op score was 74.9 (SD ± 26.2), which exceeded the MCID threshold (p < 0.001). Patients with increasing hernia width had higher odds of exceeding MCID at 1 year post-op (OR 1.04, p < 0.01), as did patients with greater ASA class (OR 8.9, p < 0.01)., Conclusion: Using MCID can help identify patients who may significantly improve QoL after VHR, as well as power clinical trials with QoL as primary outcome., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons provide guidelines for managing suspected common bile duct (CBD) stones. We sought to evaluate adherence to the guidelines among patients with choledocholithiasis and/or acute biliary pancreatitis (ABP) and to evaluate the ability of these guidelines to predict choledocholithiasis., Methods: We prospectively identified patients undergoing same-admission cholecystectomy for choledocholithiasis and/or ABP from 2016 to 2019 at 12 United States medical centers. Predictors of suspected CBD stones were very strong (CBD stone on ultrasound; bilirubin >4 mg/dL), strong (CBD > 6 mm; bilirubin ≥1.8 to ≤4 mg/dL), or moderate (abnormal liver function tests other than bilirubin; age >55 years; ABP). Patients were grouped by probability of CBD stones: high (any very strong or both strong predictors), low (no predictors), or intermediate (any other predictor combination). The management of each probability group was compared with the recommended management in the guidelines., Results: The cohort was comprised of 844 patients. High-probability patients had 64.3% (n = 238/370) deviation from guidelines, intermediate-probability patients had 29% (n = 132/455) deviation, and low-probability patients had 78.9% (n = 15/19) deviation. Acute biliary pancreatitis increased the odds of deviation for the high- (odds ratio [OR], 1.71; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06-2.8; p = 0.03) and intermediate-probability groups (OR, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.07-2.42; p = 0.02). Age older than 55 years (OR, 2.19; 95% CI, 1.4-3.43; p < 0.001) also increased the odds of deviation for the intermediate group. A CBD greater than 6 mm predicted choledocholithiasis in the high (adjusted OR (aOR), 2.16; 95% CI, 1.17-3.97; p = 0.01) and intermediate group (aOR, 2.78; 95% CI, 1.59-4.86; p < 0.001). Any very strong predictor (aOR, 2.43; 95% CI, 1.76-3.37; p < 0.0001) and both strong predictors predicted choledocholithiasis (aOR, 2; 95% CI, 1.35-2.96; p < 0.001)., Conclusion: Almost 45% of patients with suspected CBD stones were managed discordantly from the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons guidelines. We believe these guidelines warrant revision to better reflect the ability of the clinical variables at predicting choledocholithiasis., Level of Evidence: Therapeutic/Care Management; Level IV., (Copyright © 2021 American Association for the Surgery of Trauma.)

Background: Surgeons are increasingly utilizing telemedicine to provide perioperative services to patients. Safety, satisfaction, and feasibility of these programs in general populations have been established, but it is unclear how telemedicine can be integrated into subspecialty care. We report results of a national survey related to telehealth practices among members of the Abdominal Core Health Quality Collaborative (ACHQC)., Methods: Survey responses were analyzed to determine current strategies in telemedicine utilization. Surgeon preferences, perceptions of validity, and identified barriers to implementation of telemedicine were assessed., Results: Forty surgeons within the ACHQC responded, with 90% of respondents reporting use of telemedicine to deliver perioperative care to patients with hernias and abdominal core health concerns. Surgeons appeared to be more comfortable managing preoperative patients with image-confirmed diagnoses of hernias. Surgeons were universally more comfortable delivering postoperative care via telemedicine. Connectivity, patient engagement, and reimbursement were identified as potential barriers to expansion of telemedicine. Seventy-eight percent of respondents reported that they would increase telemedicine utilization if current regulations were maintained in the future., Conclusions: This study found that hernia specialists are utilizing telemedicine at a higher rate than before the COVID-19 pandemic, with surgeons reporting interest in continued use of this modality beyond the pandemic. These findings suggest that future work in telemedicine optimization may improve the quality of care that can be delivered to patients with abdominal core health concerns., (© 2021. This is a U.S. government work and not under copyright protection in the U.S.; foreign copyright protection may apply.)

Background: Ventral hernia repair (VHR) has been shown to improve overall quality of life (QOL) by the validated 12-question Hernia-Related Quality-of-Life survey (HerQLes). However, which specific aspects of quality of life are most affected by VHR have not been formally investigated., Methods: Through retrospective analysis of the Abdominal Core Health Quality Collaborative national database, we measured the change in each individual component of the HerQLes questionnaire from a pre-operative baseline assessment to one-year postoperatively in VHR patients., Results: In total, 1,875 VHR patients had completed both pre- and post-operative questionnaires from 2014-2018. They were predominately Caucasian (92.3%), 57.9 ± 12.4 Y old, and evenly gender split (50.5% male, 49.5% female, P = 0.31). Most operations were performed open (80.5%) with fewer laparoscopic (7.5%) or robotic cases (12.1%). For each of the 12 individual categories, improvement in QOL from baseline to 1-Y was found to be statistically significant (P < 0.0001). This held true with subgroup analysis of small (<2 cm), medium (2-6 cm), and large (>6 cm) hernias (P < 0.0001), though a larger improvement was seen in 8 of 12 components in hernias >6 cm (P < 0.001). Operative approach did not carry a significant effect except in medium hernias (2-6 cm), where an open approach saw a greater improvement in the "accomplish less at work" item (P = 0.02)., Conclusions: VHR is associated with improvement in each of the 12 components of QOL measured in the HerQLes questionnaire, regardless of the size of their hernia. The amount of improvement, however, may be dependent on hernia size and approach., Competing Interests: Disclosure Poulose: Abdominal Core Health Quality Collaborative (salary support); BD Interventional (research grant); Advanced Medical Solutions (research grant) Haisley, Vadlamudi, Gupta, Collins, Renshaw: None., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Importance: Although multiple versions of polypropylene mesh devices are currently available on the market for hernia repair, few comparisons exist to guide surgeons as to which device may be preferable for certain indications. Mesh density is believed to impact patient outcomes, including rates of chronic pain and perception of mesh in the abdominal wall., Objective: To examine whether medium-weight polypropylene is associated with less pain at 1 year compared with heavy-weight mesh., Design, Setting, and Participants: This multicenter randomized clinical trial was performed from March 14, 2017, to April 17, 2019, with 1-year follow-up. Patients undergoing clean, open ventral hernia repairs with a width 20 cm or less were studied. Patients were blinded to the intervention., Interventions: Patients were randomized to receive medium-weight or heavy-weight polypropylene mesh during open ventral hernia repair., Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was pain measured with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Pain Intensity Short Form 3a. Secondary outcomes included quality of life and pain measured at 30 days, quality of life measured at 1 year, 30-day postoperative morbidity, and 1-year hernia recurrence., Results: A total of 350 patients participated in the study, with 173 randomized to receive heavy-weight polypropylene mesh (84 [48.6%] female; mean [SD] age, 59.2 [11.4] years) and 177 randomized to receive medium-weight polypropylene mesh (91 [51.4%] female; mean [SD] age, 59.3 [11.4] years). No significant differences were found in demographic characteristics (mean [SD] body mass index of 32.0 [5.4] in both groups [calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared] and American Society of Anesthesiologists classes of 2-4 in both groups), comorbidities (122 [70.5%] vs 93 [52.5%] with hypertension, 44 [25.4%] vs 43 [24.3%] with diabetes, 17 [9.8%] vs 12 [6.8%] with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), or operative characteristics (modified hernia grade of 2 in 130 [75.1] vs 140 [79.1] in the heavy-weight vs medium-weight mesh groups). Pain scores for patients in the heavy-weight vs medium-weight mesh groups at 30 days (46.3 vs 46.3, P = .89) and 1 year (30.7 vs 30.7, P = .59) were identical. No significant differences in quality of life (median [interquartile range] hernia-specific quality of life score at 1 year of 90.0 [67.9-96.7] vs 86.7 [65.0-93.3]; median [interquartile range] hernia-specific quality of life score at 30 days, 45.0 [24.6-73.8] vs 43.3 [28.3-65.0]) were found for the heavy-weight mesh vs medium-weight mesh groups. Composite 1-year recurrence rates for patients in the heavy-weight vs medium-weight polypropylene groups were similar (8% vs 7%, P = .79)., Conclusions and Relevance: Medium-weight polypropylene did not demonstrate any patient-perceived or clinical benefit over heavy-weight polypropylene after open retromuscular ventral hernia repair. Long-term follow-up of these comparable groups will elucidate any potential differences in durability that have yet to be identified., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03082391.

Background: An increasing body of information suggests that preoperative physical activity level can impact postoperative outcomes. We sought to investigate this relationship in patients undergoing ventral hernia repair (VHR)., Methods: The Abdominal Core Health Quality Collaborative registry was used to identify patients undergoing a VHR between 2013 and 2019. Patient-reported preoperative exercise level was used to stratify the study population into 4 groups: none (no reported exercise), sporadic (once a month), moderate (once per week), and intense (more than once per week). Multi-variate logistic regression analyses were used to assess the impact of preoperative exercise frequency on postoperative outcomes, including complications, hospital readmissions and length of stay. Changes in quality of life and pain from baseline to 30-days postoperatively were assessed using the Hernia-Related Quality of Life Survey and National Institutes of Health Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System 3A Pain Scale., Results: A total of 2,994 patients were included in the study, out of which 1,519 (50.7%) patients reported no preoperative exercise, 662 (22.1%) sporadic exercise, 467 (15.6%) moderate exercise, and 346 (11.6%) intense exercise. A total of 1,253 patients (19.2%) experienced a postoperative complication, out of which 249 (3.8%) had a surgical site infection. After multi-variable analysis and adjusting for demographics, comorbidities, and hernia characteristics, increasing exercise frequency (versus no reported exercise) was associated with significantly lower odds of experiencing any postoperative complication (sporadic: odds ratio 0.70; P = .008; moderate: odds ratio 0.62, P = .006; intense: odds ratio 0.67, P = .04), as well as lower odds of readmission (sporadic: odds ratio 0.04; moderate: odds ratio 0.40; intense: odds ratio 0.03; P = .01). Exercise level was not associated with length of stay (sporadic: P = .36; moderate: P = .19; intense: P = .95). No significant differences were found in changes in quality of life or pain from baseline to 30-days after surgery (Hernia-Related Quality of Life Survey, P = .24; National Institutes of Health Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System 3A P = .14)., Conclusion: Patients reporting greater exercise frequency before surgery demonstrated decreased risk of complications and readmission after undergoing ventral hernia repair. Increasing preoperative exercise participation through targeted prehabilitation programs may be a viable way for patients to reduce complications associated with VHR and improve their postoperative recovery., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Non-essential surgery had largely been suspended during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Enormous amounts of resources were utilized to shift surgical practices to a "disaster footing" with most elective surgeons assuming new roles to offset the anticipated burden from surgical and medical personnel delivering acute care. As the number of COVID-19-infected patients began to plateau in the state of Ohio, a four-phase "Responsible Return to Surgery" approach was adopted in concert with the Ohio Department of Health and the Ohio Hospital Association. This approach was adopted understanding that a simple return to the status quo prior to the COVID-19 pandemic might be harmful to patients, providers, and staff. The discrete phases undertaken at our quaternary care institution for a responsible return to non-essential surgery are outlined with the goal of ensuring timely care, minimizing community transmission, and preserving personal protective equipment. Operationalizing these phases relied upon the widespread use of telehealth, systematic COVID-19 testing, and real-time monitoring of hospital and personal protective equipment resources.

Background: The incidence of incisional hernia is up to 20 per cent after abdominal surgery. The management of patients with incisional hernia can be complex with an array of techniques and meshes available. Ensuring consistency in reporting outcomes across studies on incisional hernia is important and will enable appropriate interpretation, comparison and data synthesis across a range of clinical and operative treatment strategies., Methods: Literature searches were performed in MEDLINE and EMBASE (from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2019) and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. All studies documenting clinical and patient-reported outcomes for incisional hernia were included., Results: In total, 1340 studies were screened, of which 92 were included, reporting outcomes on 12 292 patients undergoing incisional hernia repair. Eight broad-based outcome domains were identified, including patient and clinical demographics, hernia-related symptoms, hernia morphology, recurrent incisional hernia, operative variables, postoperative variables, follow-up and patient-reported outcomes. Clinical outcomes such as hernia recurrence rates were reported in 80 studies (87 per cent). A total of nine different definitions for detecting hernia recurrence were identified. Patient-reported outcomes were reported in 31 studies (34 per cent), with 18 different assessment measures used., Conclusions: This review demonstrates the significant heterogeneity in outcome reporting in incisional hernia studies, with significant variation in outcome assessment and definitions. This is coupled with significant under-reporting of patient-reported outcomes., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of BJS Society Ltd.)

Objective: To determine the effectiveness of a clinical call center in performing focused long-term patient reported outcome (PRO)-based follow-up for ventral hernia patients in routine practice., Background: Long-term follow-up remains the mainstay of assessing quality of care in hernia management. Achieving acceptable rates of long-term follow-up outside of clinical trials in the routine care of patients has been very difficult to achieve., Methods: A prospective quality improvement intervention using a clinical call center in 1000 random patients eligible for long-term (1 year or greater) follow-up after ventral hernia repair in the Abdominal Core Health Quality Collaborative was performed. The primary outcome measure was the proportion of patients with successfully completed PRO-based long-term follow-up., Results: Between 2013 and 2017, the baseline long-term follow-up PRO completion rate was 2167/13,950 (15.5%). For the Focus on Follow-Up initiative, 890 patients were eligible for contact; a completion rate of 450/890 (50.6%, P < 0.001) was achieved., Conclusions: Clinical call center-based patient contact can greatly facilitate the completion of PROs utilized for long-term follow-up in ventral hernia repair. This has important implications for quality improvement programs and postmarket device surveillance., Competing Interests: Disclosure: B.K.P. has received research support from BD and Advanced Medical Solutions; he receives salary from the Abdominal Core Health Quality Collaborative (ACHQC) as the ACHQC Director for Quality and Outcomes. H.S. receives consulting service fees from the ACHQC as Director of Business Development. M.J.R. has received research support from Pacira Medical and Intuitive Surgical; he receives salary from the ACHQC as the ACHQC Medical Director. The ACHQC receives funds from the following companies: Allergan, BD, Intuitive Surgical, Medtronic, Acell, Cook Biotech, Ethicon, and W.L. Gore. The remaining authors declare that they have nothing to disclose. This work was supported by Allergan, BD Interventional, Intuitive Surgical, and Medtronic., (Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Background: This study represents a prospective, multicenter, open-label study to assess the safety, performance, and outcomes of poly-4-hydroxybutyrate (P4HB, Phasix™) mesh for primary ventral, primary incisional, or multiply-recurrent hernia in subjects at risk for complications. This study reports 3-year clinical outcomes., Materials and Methods: P4HB mesh was implanted in 121 patients via retrorectus or onlay technique. Physical exam and/or quality of life surveys were completed at 1, 3, 6,12, 18, 24, and 36 months, with 5-year (60-month) follow-up ongoing., Results: A total of n = 121 patients were implanted with P4HB mesh (n = 75 (62%) female) with a mean age of 54.7 ± 12.0 years and mean BMI of 32.2 ± 4.5 kg/m 2 (±standard deviation). Comorbidities included: obesity (78.5%), active smokers (23.1%), COPD (28.1%), diabetes mellitus (33.1%), immunosuppression (8.3%), coronary artery disease (21.5%), chronic corticosteroid use (5.0%), hypo-albuminemia (2.5%), advanced age (5.0%), and renal insufficiency (0.8%). Hernias were repaired via retrorectus (n = 45, 37.2% with myofascial release (MR) or n = 43, 35.5% without MR), onlay (n = 8, 6.6% with MR or n = 24, 19.8% without MR), or not reported (n = 1, 0.8%). 82 patients (67.8%) completed 36-month follow-up. 17 patients (17.9% ± 0.4%) experienced hernia recurrence at 3 years, with n = 9 in the retrorectus group and n = 8 in the onlay group. SSI (n = 11) occurred in 9.3% ± 0.03% of patients., Conclusions: Long-term outcomes following ventral hernia repair with P4HB mesh demonstrate low recurrence rates at 3-year (36-month) postoperative time frame with no patients developing late mesh complications or requiring mesh removal. 5-year (60-month) follow-up is ongoing., Competing Interests: Dr. Roth reports a grant and consulting fees from C.R. Bard, Inc./Davol/Becton Dickinson (BD) during the conduct of this study. Dr. Roth also reports consulting fees (Johnson & Johnson) and stock (Miromatrix) outside of the current work. Dr. Anthone has no conflicts of interest to disclose related to this study. Dr. Anthone reports consulting fees and speaker honoraria (Becton Dickinson (BD)) outside of the current work. Dr. Selzer reports a grant from C.R. Bard, Inc./Davol/Becton Dickinson (BD) during the conduct of the study. Dr. Selzer also reports consulting fees (Cook Biotech, Inc.) outside of the current work. Dr. Poulose has no conflicts of interest to disclose related to the current study. Dr. Poulose reports salary support (Americas Hernia Society Quality Collaborative) and research support (Becton Dickinson (BD) and Advanced Medical Solutions) outside of the current work. Dr. Pierce has no conflicts of interest to disclose related to the current study. Dr. Pierce reports research support (Intuitive Surgical Solutions) outside of the current work and his spouse is a salaried employee of a medical device company (CareFusion) that falls under the overall umbrella of the parent company, Becton Dickinson (BD). Drs. Dunn, Bittner, Linn, Romanelli, and Sandler report a grant from C.R. Bard, Inc./Davol/Becton Dickinson (BD) during the conduct of the study but have nothing to disclose outside of the current work. Dr. Hope reports consulting fees and research support from C.R. Bard, Inc./Davol/Becton Dickinson (BD) during the conduct of the study. Dr. Hope also reports consulting fees, honoraria, and research support (Intuitive, W.L. Gore, and Medtronic) outside of the current work. Dr. Martindale has no conflicts of interest to disclose related to the current study. Dr. Martindale reports consulting fees (Allergan, C.R. Bard, Inc./Davol/Becton Dickinson (BD), and Nestle) and employment (OHSU) outside of the current work. Dr. Goldblatt reports a grant from C.R. Bard, Inc./Davol/Becton Dickinson (BD) during the conduct of the study. Dr. Goldblatt also reports consulting fees (W.L. Gore, Medtronic, and Allergan) and a grant (Medtronic) outside of the current work. Dr. Earle has no conflicts of interest to disclose related to the current study. Dr. Earle reports consulting fees (Becton Dickinson (BD) and Medtronic) and ownership stake/advisory board (Via Surgical) outside of the current work. Dr. Mancini has no conflicts of interest to disclose related to the current study. Dr. Mancini reports consulting fees (Stryker Endoscopy) and speakers’ fees (Gore Medical and Medtronic) outside of the current work. Dr. Greenberg reports a grant from C.R. Bard, Inc./Davol/Becton Dickinson (BD) during the conduct of the study. Dr. Greenberg also reports grants (Becton Dickinson (BD) and Medtronic), as well as course registration, travel, and lodging (Intuitive) outside of the current work. Dr. Parra-Davila has no conflicts of interest to disclose related to the current study. Dr. Parra-Davila reports consulting fees (C.R. Bard, Inc./Davol/Becton Dickinson (BD), Intuitive, Auris, Johnson & Johnson, and Titan), board membership (C.R. Bard, Inc./Davol/Becton Dickinson (BD)), and proctoring (Intuitive) outside of the current work. Dr. Deeken reports consulting fees from C.R. Bard, Inc./Davol/Becton Dickinson (BD) during the conduct of the study. Dr. Deeken also reports consulting fees from C.R. Bard, Inc./Davol/Becton Dickinson (BD), Surgical Innovation Associates, Americas Hernia Society Quality Collaborative, Colorado Therapeutics, TelaBio, and Aran Biomedical outside the submitted work, as well as grants from Ethicon, Inc. and TelaBio to support a book chapter outside the submitted work. In addition, Dr. Deeken is the owner of Covalent Bio, LLC and holds the following issued patents: 2009293001, 2334257, 2,334,257UK, 602009046407.8, 2,334,257FR, 16/043,849 and 2,737,542. Dr. Verbarg reports consulting fees from C.R. Bard, Inc./Davol/Becton Dickinson (BD) during the conduct of the study. Dr. Verbarg has no other conflict of interest to disclose outside of the current work. Drs. Salluzzo and Voeller have no conflicts of interest to disclose relative to the current study or any other work., (© 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of IJS Publishing Group Ltd.)

Background: In open retromuscular ventral hernia repair, fixation-free mesh placement is increasingly prevalent and may minimize pain; the main concern with this technique is short-term technical failure and hernia recurrence. This study compared outcomes following mechanical mesh fixation (i.e., sutures, staples, tacks) versus fixation-free mesh placement., Methods: Adults who underwent open, elective, retromuscular ventral hernia repair of 15 cm width or less with permanent synthetic mesh placement in a clean wound were identified. Propensity score matching was used to compare patients who received mechanical mesh fixation to those who received fixation-free mesh placement. Thirty-day hernia recurrence was the primary outcome, with secondary outcomes of 30-day hospital length of stay and 30-day rates of readmission, reoperation, wound events, pain, and abdominal wall function. One- and 2-year composite recurrence and 3-year cumulative composite recurrence were also evaluated., Results: A 3:1 propensity score match was performed on 299 fixation-free patients identifying 897 mechanical fixation patients, with a mean body mass index of 31 kg/m and mean age of 57.5 years. There was no difference in 30-day recurrence between mechanical and fixation-free approaches (0.2 percent versus 0 percent; p = 1). Median length of stay was longer for mechanical fixation (4 versus 3 days; p = 0.002). In the mechanical fixation group, pain scores were higher (worse pain, 46 versus 44; p = 0.001), and abdominal wall function scores were lower (worse function, 47 versus 60; p = 0.003), with no differences in rates of hospital readmission, reoperation, or wound events. There were no differences in long-term outcomes of 1- and 2-year composite recurrence, or 3-year cumulative composite recurrence., Conclusion: For short-term technical durability, fixation-free mesh placement in open retromuscular ventral hernia repair is an acceptable alternative to mechanical fixation for hernia defects of 15 cm or less., Clinical Question/level of Evidence: Therapeutic, III.

Background: COVID-19 has created an urgent need for reorganization and surge planning among departments of surgery across the USA., Methods: Review of the COVID-19 planning process and work products in preparation for a patient surge. Organizational and process changes, workflow redesign, and communication plans are presented., Results: The planning process included widespread collaboration among leadership from many disciplines. The department of surgery played a leading role in establishing clinical protocols, guidelines, and policies in preparation for a surge of COVID-19 patients. A multidisciplinary approach with input from clinical and nonclinical stakeholders is critical to successful crisis planning. A clear communication plan should be implemented early and input from trainees, staff, and faculty should be solicited., Conclusion: Major departmental and health system reorganization is required to adapt academic surgical practices to a widespread crisis. Surgical leadership, innovation, and flexibility are critical to successful planning and implementation.