Is the Surgical Site Infection Rate after Ventral/ Incisional Hernia Repair Higher in a Facility Not Participating in a National Surgical Quality Improvement Program?

The specific weight of each of these risk factors are inconsistent in individual studies.1 The largest studies of VIHR SSIs query large databases using National Surgical Quality Improvement Programs (NSQIPs)2, 3 and report SSI rates lower than large single-center studies.4 Given these discrepancies, the purpose of our study was to measure and identify risk factors for SSIs after VIHR at a single institution not participating in a NSQIP. A study of 25,172 VIHR cases from the American College of Surgeons NSQIP database found that open surgical approaches, BMI > 30, smoking status, and longer operation times were all significant predictors of postoperative SSI.3 Similarly, a study of 1505 VIHR cases from the Veterans Affairs NSQIP found that smoking, prolonged operative length, and chronic steroid use were significant predictors of SSI.2 More important than the large denominators, reporting benchmark practices is key to helping non- NSQIP institutions improve care.