Abdominal wall mass resections: single-center closure practices and outcomes following oncologic resections of abdominal wall fascia

Purpose Radical resections for abdominal wall tumors are rare, thus yielding limited data on reconstruction of defects. We describe surgical management and long-term outcomes following radical tumor resection.Methods This was a single-center retrospective review of patients between January 2010 and December 2022. Variables included operative characteristics, wound complications, hernia development, tumor recurrence, and reoperation. A multivariable analysis compared wound morbidity for suture and mesh repairs while adjusting for defect width, fascial closure, and CDC wound class.Results 120 patients were identified. Mean follow-up was 3.9 +/- 3.4 years. Seventy-five (62.5%) of the masses were primary; most commonly desmoid (n = 25) and endometrioma (n = 27). Forty-five masses were metastases. Mean tumor width was 6.2 +/- 3.4 cm; mean defect width was 8.1 +/- 4.1 cm. Sixty-one patients (50.8%) had mesh placed, with variation in technique.Postoperative CT scans were available for 88 (73.3%) patients. Forty SSOs (33.3%), 11 SSIs (9.2%), and 18 (15%) SSOPIs occurred within 30 days. On multivariable analysis, increased defect width was associated with SSOPI (OR 1.17, p = 0.041) and CDC wound class II-III was associated with SSI (OR 8.38 and 49.1, p < 0.05) and SSOPI (OR 5.77 and 17.4, p < 0.05); mesh was not associated with these outcomes. Seven patients (5.8%) underwent 30-day reoperations and 35 (20.8%) required additional operations after 30 days. Thirteen percent developed abdominal wall (n = 8) or intra-abdominal tumor recurrence (n = 8) requiring reoperation. Twenty-seven (22.5%) patients developed hernias with a mean fascial defect width of 9.8 +/- 7.2 cm.Conclusion Abdominal wall mass resections are morbid, often contaminated cases with high postoperative complication rates. Risks and benefits of mesh implantation should be tailored on an individual basis.

Automated summary

This study retrospectively analyzed the surgical management and long-term outcomes following radical resection of abdominal wall tumors. The results showed a high rate of postoperative complications and the majority of patients required additional surgeries. Mesh implantation was not associated with these complications.