Purpose
Incisional hernia (IH) is a common complication after colectomy, with impacts on both healthcare utilization and quality of life. The true incidence of IH after minimally invasive colectomy is not well described. The purpose of this study was to examine the IH incidence after minimally invasive right colectomies (RC), and to compare the IH rate after laparoscopic (L-RC) and robotic (R-RC) colectomies.
Methods
This is a retrospective review of patients undergoing minimally invasive RC at a single institution from 2009–2014. Only patients undergoing RC for colonic neoplasia were included. Patients with previous colectomy or intraperitoneal chemotherapy were excluded. Three L-RC patients were included for each R-RC patient. The primary outcome was incisional hernia (IH) rate based on clinical examination or computed tomography (CT). Univariate and multivariate time-to-event analyses were used to assess predictors of IH.
Results
276 patients where included, of which 69 had undergone R-RHC and 207 L-RHC. Patient and tumor characteristics were similar between the groups, except for higher tumor stage in L-RC patients. Both the median time to diagnosis (9.2 months) and the overall IH rate were similar between the groups (17.4% for R-RHC and 22.2% for L-RHC), as were all other postoperative complications. In multivariable analyses, the only significant predictor of IH was former or current tobacco use (HR 3.0, p=0.03).
Conclusions
This study suggests that the incidence of IH is high after minimally invasive colectomy, and that this rate is equivalent after R-RC and L-RC. Reducing the IH rate is an important opportunity for improving quality of life and reducing health care utilization after minimally invasive colectomy.