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Hernia and Obesity

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Abdominal Wall Hernias

Abstract

An increased risk of hernia in obese patients has been reported in many studies. We have found a 20% risk of incisional hernia following gastric bypass surgery compared with 4% in patients who underwent a total abdominal colectomy, proctectomy, and ileoanal pouch anastomosis for ulcerative colitis, involving a much larger incision. Of the latter group, 60% of these patients were taking an average of 32 mg prednisone a day, which is thought to decrease the rate of wound healing. In the colitis group, four of the seven incisional hernia patients had a body mass index of 30 kg/m2 or more. Additional risks for hernia in this study included a prior incisional hernia (41% vs. 19%), type 2 diabetes mellitus (28% vs. 15%), wound infection (35% vs. 18%), sleep apnea (33% vs. 14%), and obesity hypoventilation (35% vs. 17%). Others have found a similar rate of incisional hernia following obesity surgery. Furthermore, there appears to be an increased risk of recurrent incisional hernia following their repair in obese patients. Thus, obesity appears to be a much greater risk for hernia formation than the use of steroids.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Medical College of Virginia of Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298, USA

    Harvey J. Sugerman MD

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  1. Harvey J. Sugerman MD
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Toronto, Canada

    Robert Bendavid MD

  2. Haifa, Israel

    Jack Abrahamson MD

  3. Indianapolis, IN, USA

    Maurice E. Arregui MD

  4. Reims, France

    Jean Bernard Flament MD

  5. Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Edward H. Phillips MD

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© 2001 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Sugerman, H.J. (2001). Hernia and Obesity. In: Bendavid, R., Abrahamson, J., Arregui, M.E., Flament, J.B., Phillips, E.H. (eds) Abdominal Wall Hernias. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8574-3_102

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8574-3_102

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-6440-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-8574-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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