Volvulus 8 years after bariatric surgery.

INTRODUCTION: Bariatric surgery is a widespread branch of surgery because of the increase in obesity in population. It is one way to achieve long-term weight loss effect in obese patients. Like other surgeries, bariatric surgery has many complications including ileus and volvulus in small intestine. It is an acute state in surgery and usually leads to a revision surgery. CASE REPORT: 58 years old woman who underwent mini-gastric bypass in 2014. She was admitted to our department because of manifestation of ileus on the second day after TEP of the hip joint. There was a typical sign of volvulus on the CT scan. She was operated on the same day. The reinsertion of enteroenteroanastomosis and denotation of the small intestine, desufflation of the large intestine, and reconstruction of new enteroenteroanastomosis was needed. After the surgery, the patient was without any complications. The bowel function recovery was slower postoperatively. CONCLUSION: Diagnosis of volvulus is not easy because of non-specific clinical symptoms. In this case report, the volvulus occurred 8 years after the primary surgery. Symptoms developed because of paralytic ileus after hip replacement.

Autoimmunity and hernia mesh: fact or fiction?

BACKGROUND: There is an increasing number of patients following hernia surgery with implanted mesh reporting symptoms that could indicate autoimmune or allergic reactions to mesh. 'Allergy' to metals, various drugs, and chemicals is well recognised. However, hypersensitivity, allergy or autoimmunity caused by surgical mesh has not been proven by a scientific method to date. The aim of this study was twofold: to describe the pathophysiology of autoimmunity and foreign body reaction and to undertake a systematic review of surgical mesh implanted at the time of hernia repair and the subsequent development of autoimmune disease. METHODS: A systematic review using the PRISMA guidelines was undertaken. Pubmed (Medline), Google Scholar and Cochrane databases were searched for all English-written peer-reviewed articles published between 2000 and 2021. The search was performed using the keywords "hernia", "mesh", "autoimmunity", "ASIA", "immune response", "autoimmune response". RESULTS: Seven papers were included in the final analysis-three systematic reviews, three cohort studies and one case report. Much of the current data regarding the association of hernia mesh and autoimmunity relies on retrospective cohort studies and/or case reports with limited availability of cofounding factor data linked to autoimmune disease such as smoking status or indeed a detailed medical history of patients. Three systematic reviews have discussed this topic, each with a slightly different approach and none of them has identified causality between the use of mesh and the subsequent development of autoimmune disease. CONCLUSION: There is little evidence that the use of polypropylene mesh can lead to autoimmunity. A large number of potential triggers of autoimmunity along with the genetic predisposition to autoimmune disease and the commonality of hernia, make a cause and effect difficult to unravel at present. Biomaterials cause foreign body reactions, but a chronic foreign body reaction does not indicate autoimmunity, a common misunderstanding in the literature.

Triple neurectomy following Lichtenstein repair of inguinal hernia.

INTRODUCTION: Chronic pain is a distressing complication that can occur after inguinal hernia repair, affecting between 5% and 20% of patients as reported in literature. There are several reasons for chronic pain, including peripheral nerve irritation caused by surgical mesh or stitches. Preoperative pain is a risk factor for chronic pain. CASE REPORT: We present the case of a 59-year-old man who experienced chronic inguinal pain following Lichtenstein hernia repair. Conservative therapy was ineffective, and he subsequently underwent triple neurectomy without removal of the original polypropylene mesh. The patient experienced significant pain relief immediately after the surgery. There was no reported pain 1 month and 1 year post-surgery. CONCLUSION: The management of patients with chronic pain following hernia repair should be comprehensive and, ideally, centralized. Conservative procedures should be attempted first, but neurectomy and mesh removal may be necessary in cases where conservative measures are unsuccessful.

The European Hernia Society Prehabilitation Project: A Systematic Review of Intra-Operative Prevention Strategies for Surgical Site Occurrences in Ventral Hernia Surgery.

Background: Ventral hernia repair is one of the most commonly performed surgical procedures worldwide. To reduce the risk of complications, pre- and intra-operative strategies have received increasing focus in recent years. To assess possible preventive surgical strategies, this European Hernia Society endorsed project was launched. The aim of this review was to evaluate the current literature focusing on pre- and intra-operative strategies for surgical site occurrences (SSO) and specifically surgical site infection (SSI) in ventral hernia repair. Methods: A systematic review was conducted and reported in line with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. Databases used were Pubmed and Web of Science. Original retrospective or prospective human adult studies describing at least one intra-operative intervention to reduce SSO after ventral hernia repair were considered eligible. Results: From a total of 4775 results, a total of 18 papers were considered suitable after full text reading. Prehospital chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) scrub appears to increase the risk of SSO in patients undergoing ventral hernia repair, while there is no association between any type of surgical hat worn and the incidence of postoperative wound events. Intraoperative measures as prophylactic negative pressure therapy, surgical drain placement and the use of quilt sutures seem beneficial for decreasing the incidence of SSO and/or SSI. No positive effect has been shown for antibiotic soaking of a synthetic mesh, nor for the use of fibrin sealants. Conclusion: This review identified a limited amount of literature describing specific preventive measures and techniques during ventral hernia repair. An advantage of prophylactic negative pressure therapy in prevention of SSI was observed, but different tools to decrease SSIs and SSOs continuously further need our full attention to improve patient outcomes and to lower overall costs.

The European Hernia Society Prehabilitation Project: a systematic review of patient prehabilitation prior to ventral hernia surgery.

BACKGROUND: Ventral hernia repair is one of the most commonly performed surgical procedures worldwide. To reduce the risk of complications, patient prehabilitation has received increasing focus in recent years. To assess prehabilitation measures, this European Hernia Society endorsed project was launched. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the current literature on patient prehabilitation prior to ventral hernia repair. METHODS: The strategies examined were optimization of renal disease, obesity, nutrition, physical exercise, COPD, diabetes and smoking cessation. For each topic, a separate literature search was conducted, allowing for seven different sub-reviews. RESULTS: A limited amount of well-conducted research studies evaluating prehabilitation prior to ventral hernia surgery was found. The primary findings showed that smoking cessation and weight loss for obese patients led to reduced risks of complications after abdominal wall reconstruction. CONCLUSION: Prehabilitation prior to ventral hernia repair may be widely used; however, the literature supporting its use is limited. Future studies evaluating the impact of prehabilitation before ventral hernia surgery are warranted.