Acil inguinal hernilerde cerrahi yaklaşıma etki eden faktörler: Tek merkez deneyimi

Objective The aim is to establish the principles of surgery for patients who have undergone emergency groin hernia surgery by examining risk factors, diagnostic modalities, time to operation, and surgical techniques. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on patients who underwent groin hernia repair surgery between the years 2017 and 2022. The study evaluated various parameters such as demographic characteristics, physical examination findings, co-morbidities, radiologic assessments, operation notes, time of arrival to the hospital, and the duration of the operation. Data was collected from the hospital's electronic medical records system. Based on the mode of pre-operative assessment, patients were classified into two groups: group 1, comprising patients whose decision for surgery was based on physical examination alone, and group 2, comprising patients who underwent radiologic assessment prior to the operation. Result The risk evaluation of patients who underwent emergent hernia surgery revealed a higher incidence of women gender (25%) and femoral hernia type (16.6%) as compared to the elective surgery group, where the incidence was 6.7% and 1.6%, respectively. The diagnosis of patients was primarily based on physical examination findings, although radiologic methods were used preoperatively in 75% of the cases. It was observed that radiologic assessments increased the duration of the operation and resulted in higher morbidity and intestinal resection rates. Conclusion Radiologic methods, apart from in cases of suspected conditions such as obesity and recurrent hernias, may lead to delayed treatment and increased morbidity and mortality rates in patients undergoing emergent hernia surgery. Prompt surgical intervention based on physical examination findings is crucial in cases of strangulation or incarceration. In instances of spontaneous reduction, incisional exploration, hernioscopy, laparoscopy, or laparotomy should be considered if there is any suspicion of intestinal viability.