Comparison of Incisional Hernias with Another Type of Abdominal Hernias in Terms of Predisposing Factors

Objective: Incisional hernia (IH) is a common late complication of abdominal surgery. Factors such as wound infection, type of incision, wound closure technique, and suture material used and patient-related factors such as age, gender, body mass index (BMI), diabetes mellitus (DM), and smoking are also involved in the development of IH and other types of abdominal hernias (OTAH).ln this article, we compared the predisposing factors for IH and OTAH in light of the literature. Methods: Among 130 patients operated for abdominal hernia between January 2015 and December 2018 at the Department of General Surgery of GOLHANE Training and Research Hospital, we analyzed the predisposing factors for IH and OTAH. Results: The female-to-male ratio was 28:102, mean age was 58.6 years, and mean BMI was 29.3 kg. The prevalence of DM and smoking was also evaluated. The rate of drain application and hospitalization duration was 56.2% to 4.1 % and 8.6-5.3 days in IH and OTAH groups, respectively. Conclusion: We determined that male gender is a dominant risk factor for OTAH and high BMI for IH. Age, DM, and smoking are equivalent risk factors for both. Drain application for IH is highly statistically significant, which results in prolonged hospitalization. These results suggest an important complication of DM and obesity and conclude that obesity is a major risk factor for IH. Keywords: Abdominal hernia, diabetes mellitus, herniorrhaphy, incisional hernia, obesity