Enhanced recovery after surgical repair of incisional hernias

Aim Enhanced recovery programmes (ERPs) were developed to improve the patient’s post-operative comfort and reduce post-operative morbidity after several types of major surgery including the incisional hernia repair. The aim of this review was to describe the features of ERPs in the setting for incisional hernia repair. Methods The literature review was conducted until March 2019, but retrieved very few papers ( n = 4) on this topic. All studies were retrospective. Results Setting and comorbidities of incisional hernia patients are of such importance in many cases that prehabilitation (including tobacco use cessation, management of obesity, diabetes or malnutrition) should play a greater role compared with other specialties. The other peri-operative measures are similar to other specialties but their implementation was very heterogeneous in the published studies. Conclusions Like in other surgeries, ERPs were feasible and probably efficient to improve the post-operative course of incisional hernia patients. But the level of evidence remains low.