DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2016.v04i09.032

Pages: 3330-3334

A retrospective study of 100 patients who had presented with complicated hernias and underwent Lichtenstein's hernioplasty in the emergency setting, with the objective of studying the early postoperative complications and preoperative variables that correlate with their occurrence. Patients data were studied with regard to preoperative variables including demography, risk factors, prevalent comorbidities and patient's general clinical status. Their operative details and postoperative course details were noted and early complications were recorded. 74% patients did not develop any complications. 26% developed one or more of the following complications. SSSIs were the most common complication (9%), followed by UTI, wound haematoma, scrotal oedema in 4 patients each. 3 of them developed seromas and 2 patients needed high doses of analgesia even after postop day-5. No patient developed early recurrence or deep seated mesh complications. All the above complications were managed conservatively. Most common age group with complications was the group 41-50 yrs, followed by the 61-70 yrs group. COPD was found to have a statistical significance with SSSI and 80% of COPD patients in the study were chronic smokers. No other significant correlations were found between overall risk factors, comorbidities & complications. We observed that most of our patients did not develop early postoperative complications. Early diagnosis and prompt management in complicated hernias under emergencies yield good outcomes.