Effect of Incisional Negative Pressure Wound Therapy Following Incisional Hernia RepairA Randomised Controlled Trial

Introduction: Incisional hernia is one of the common complications following abdominal surgery in patients undergoing laparotomy. Various surgical procedures are performed by creating a potential space and placing a foreign body (mesh), which may render the wound susceptible for many postoperative complications. It is clinically important to evaluate the efficacy of Incisional Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (INPWT) in reducing wound complications.

Aim: To compare the efficacy of INPWT dressing with traditional gauze dressing in reducing postoperative complications following meshplasty in incisional hernia repair.

Materials and Methods: This was a hospital-based randomised controlled trial, conducted in the Department of General Surgery, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Pondicherry, India, from October 2013 to July 2015. Total 64 consenting patients with incisional hernias undergoing meshplasty were included in this study. After being randomised into the two study groups, they had their postoperative wounds dressed with either INPWT (group A) for five days, or traditional gauze (group B) based dressings. Operative parameters like duration of surgery, type of dissection and type of skin sutures used were studied and analysed. Also, postoperative outcomes like Surgical Site Infection (SSI), seroma, duration of drain, hospital stay were analysed using Chi-square or Fisher’s-exact test.

Results: Group A and B had the mean age of 47±11.61 years and 43±10.53 years respectively. Out of total 64 patients, there was a statistically significant reduction in the volume of drain (p=0.004) and duration of wound drainage (p=0.029) with the use of INPWT. There was also a reduction in the incidence of SSI (6.7% vs 17.6%) and seroma (6.7% vs 11.8%) and the duration of postoperative hospital stay (6.03±1.99 days vs 7.09±2.31 days) in the INPWT group, which were however not statistically significant. Age, co-morbidities, Body Mass Index (BMI), duration of surgery, type of dissection and type of skin sutures were not found to have any effect on the parameters assessed.

Conclusion: Incisional negative pressure wound therapy in postoperative wounds, following meshplasty for incisional hernia significantly reduces the volume and duration of wound drainage. It also reduces the incidence of SSI, seroma and the duration of hospital stay.