CLINICO PATHOLOGICAL STUDY OF INCISIONAL HERNIA : A TERTIARY HOSPITAL BASED PROSPECTIVE STUDY

Background: The incisional hernia is the result of failure of lines of closure of the abdominal wall following open / laparoscopic surgeries, the approximated tissues are separate and abdominal organs mainly Bowel , bulges through the gap which is covered from inside out with the peritoneum, scar tissue and skin. Aim and Objective: The aim of our study is to understand the relative importance of various factors predisposing to incisional hernia in a tertiary care hospital . All patients presenting with Methods: unsightly bulge in the operative scar registered in the department of general surgery GSVM medical college Kanpur between 2020-2022 were identied. Data on incisional hernia were obtained from outpatient follow up , aged below 70 years , consenting individuals. Both males and females below the age 70 were selected for study .Patients who came for follow up post operative were also included in study . Anaemia was dened at 12.0 g/ dl . Obesity was dened at BMI >30 . Wound dehiscence was dened as total or partial separation of previously approximated edges. Diabetic patients were dened as those with HbA1c >6.5. Results: 1. There was female preponderance with Male to female ratio being 1: 2.09 Incisional hernia occurred commonly in female patients of 31 to 40 years(27.5%) age group. while in males it was 41-50 years age group(13.8%). 2. Majority of the incisional hernia(75.8%) became evident within 6 months of previous surgery. 3. All patients presented with bulge in the anterior abdominal wall, in 44.82% patients pain was prominent symptom with skin ulceration in 3.43% of the cases. 4. Incisional hernia commonly occurred in obese (45%) females. More than half (62%) of the patients had poor muscle tone. Anaemia was present in 31% of cases. 5. Prominent risk factors which lead to occurrence of incisional hernia were infection and lax abdomen with poor muscle tone (62%), followed by obesity (45%), postoperative cough (41.2%), postoperative distension (41%), anaemia (31%), burst abdomen (24%), diabetes (17.2%), and re-laparotomy in (10.3%) cases