Evaluation of the use of component separation in elderly patients: results of a large cohort study with 30-day follow-up

Background The incidence of massive ventral hernias among the elderly will increase as the population ages. Advanced age is often viewed as a contraindication to elective hernia repair. A relationship between age and complications of component separation procedures for ventral hernias is not well established. This study evaluated the effect of age on the peri-operative safety of AWR. Methods The 2005–2013 ACS-NSQIP participant use data were reviewed to compare surgical site infection (SSI), overall morbidity, and serious morbidity in non-emergent component separation procedures among all age groups. All patients were stratified into four age quartiles and evaluated. Baseline characteristics included age, body mass index (BMI) and ASA 3 or 4 criteria. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals were reported as appropriate. Results 4485 patients were identified. Majority of the cases were clean (76.8%). Patients were divided into the following quartiles based on age. The older quartile had a mean age of 72.7 ± 4.87 years. There were baseline differences in BMI and chronic comorbidity severity (measured by incidence of ASA score of 3 or 4) between the age groups, with the oldest group having lower BMI but higher rate of ASA 3 or 4 ( p