Risk of Incisional Hernia after Minimally Invasive and Open Radical Prostatectomy

• PURPOSE:: The number of radical prostatectomies has increased. Many urologists have shifted from the open surgical approach to minimally invasive techniques. It is not clear whether the risk of post-prostatectomy incisional hernia varies by surgical approach. MATERIALS AND METHODS:: In the linked Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare dataset we identified men age 66 and older who had minimally invasive (MIRP) or open radical prostatectomy (ORP) for prostate cancer diagnosed 2003-2007. The main outcome was incisional hernia repair identified in Medicare claims following prostatectomy. We also examined the frequency of umbilical, inguinal and other hernia repairs. RESULTS:: We identified 3,199 patients who had MIRP and 6,795 who had open radical prostatectomy ORP. The frequency of incisional hernia repair was 5.3% (median follow-up 3.1 years) in the MIRP group and 1.9% (median follow-up 4.4 years) in the ORP group, corresponding to incidence rates of 16.1 and 4.5 per 1000 person-years for MIRP and ORP, respectively. Compared with ORP, MIRP was associated with a more than 3-fold increased risk of incisional hernia repair, controlling for patient and disease characteristics (adjusted hazard ratio 3.39, 95% CI, 2.63-4.38, p <0.0001). MIRP was associated with an attenuated but increased risk of any hernia repair compared with ORP (adjusted hazard ratio 1.48, 95% CI 1.29-1.70, p <0.0001), driven by incisional hernias. CONCLUSIONS:: MIRP was associated with a significantly increased risk of incisional hernia compared with ORP. This is a potentially remediable complication of prostate cancer surgery that warrants increased vigilance with respect to surgical technique.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Cancer och onkologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Cancer and Oncology (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Urologi och njurmedicin (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Urology and Nephrology (hsv//eng)

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)