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Background: Due to the increased prevalence of overweight patients with ventral hernia, abdominal wall reconstruction combining ventral hernia repair (VHR) with panniculectomy (VHR-PAN) in overweight patients is increasingly considered. We present a retrospective comparison between VHR-PAN and VHR alone in overweight patients by examining costs, clinical outcomes, and quality of life (QoL).Methods: Patients with body mass index (BMI) > 25.0 kg/m2 underwent VHR-PAN or VHR alone between September 2015 and May 2017 with a single surgeon and were matched into cohorts by BMI and age (n = 24 in each cohort). QoL was assessed using the Hernia-related Quality of Life Survey (HerQLes). Cost was assessed using billing data. Statistical analyses were performed using Fisher's exact tests, Mann-Whitney U tests, and regression modeling.Results: Hernia defect size (p = 0.127), operative time (p = 0.140), mesh placement (p = 0.357), and recurrence rates (p = 0.156) did not vary significantly between cohorts at average follow up of one year. 60% of patients completed QoL surveys, with 61% net improvement in VHR-PAN postoperatively (p = 0.042) vs 36% in VHR alone (p = 0.054). Mean total hospitalization costs were higher for VHR alone (p = 0.019). Regression modeling showed no significant independent contribution of procedure performed due to differences in cost, wound complications, or hernia recurrence.Conclusions: At mean follow up of 2 years, VHR-PAN patients reported a comparable increase in QoL to those who received VHR alone without significantly different cost and complication rates. Concurrent VHR-PAN may therefore be a safe approach for overweight patients presenting with hernia and excess abdominal skin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Minimally invasive hand-port-assisted laparoscopic vertical banded gastroplasty has the potential to reduce postoperative complications after bariatric surgery.Methods: We analyzed the postoperative course of 46 hand-port-assisted laparoscopic vertical banded gastroplasties (LVBG) completed between January 1998 and April 1999.Results: The operating time for the LVBG was shorter (140.8 +/- 6.0 vs 180.2 +/- 6.3 min; p < 0.05). Individuals were able to ambulate sooner (1.36 +/- 0.09 vs 2.44 +/- 0.16 days; p < 0.05), and start oral intake earlier (2.7 +/- 0.27 vs 3.7 +/- 0.17 days; p < 0.05) than the open vertical banded gastroplasty (VBG) controls. Three staple line leaks were detected in this group. Two leaks resolved without clinical sequelae, but one patient developed intraabdominal sepsis. This complication extended the average hospital stay to 6.8 +/- 2.00 days, as compared to 7.71 +/- 0.18 days for historical controls. By discounting this patient from the analysis, we arrive at a more representative length of hospitalization of 4.82 +/- 0.34 days (p < 0.05).Conclusions: LVBG offers a good alternative to the standard open VBG. Although this procedure has a relatively short learning curve, it should be done at centers with an interest in bariatric surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]