Risk Factors and Outcomes of Acute Versus Elective Groin Hernia Surgery

BACKGROUND: Hernia characteristics and patient factors associated with acute compared with elective groin hernia surgery are unknown. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective study of 1,034 consecutive groin hernia repair cases performed between 2001 and 2009 at a single Veterans Affairs Hospital was conducted. Patient variables, hernia characteristics, time to surgery, and morbidity and mortality outcomes were abstracted and compared between acute and elective hernia repairs. A Kaplan-Meier survival analysis for the two groups was also performed. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify associations between type of surgery, patient demographics, and hernia characteristics. RESULTS: Compared with 971 elective repair patients, the 63 acute repair patients had a higher rate of femoral hernias (2.5% vs 7.4%, p = 0.03), a higher rate of scrotal hernias (16.2% vs 32.4%, p = 0.0006), and a higher rate of recurrent hernias (16.7% vs 30.9%, p = 0.0026). Patient age, femoral, scrotal, and recurrent hernias were significantly associated with acute hernia presentation on univariate and multivariable analyses. Complications occurred in 27% and 15.1% of acute and elective repair patients, respectively (p = 0.01). Intraoperative organ resection was required in 7 (11.1%) acute hernia repairs, and in 2 (0.2%) elective repairs (p = 0.0001). Three acute repair patients (4.8%) underwent reoperation within 30 days after surgery, compared with 15 elective repair patients (1.5%), p = 0.05. Age-adjusted Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed a shorter time to death among acute repair patients compared with elective repair patients (p = 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Age, femoral, scrotal, and recurrent groin hernias are associated with increased risk for acute hernia surgery. Acute hernia repair carries a higher morbidity and lower survival. (J Am Coll Surg 2011;213:363-369. (C) 2011 by the American College of Surgeons)