Abdominoplasty and complex incisional hernia repair performed in the same surgery by an abdominal wall surgeon

Introduction: Abdominoplasty is a complementary surgical procedure to the approach of complex incisional hernias. Few studies compare early complications in clinical practice. Objective: To find out the morbidity associated when performing abdominoplasty in the same surgical patients with with complex incisional hernia. Material and methods: Cohort study in patients with elective incisional hernia repair with posterior component separation technique and 30-day follow-up. Patients with abdominoplasty are compared with those who didn't have the procedure. Analyzed variables were classified according to the sociodemographic, clinical and surgical characteristics of each group. Results: 203 clinical records were included; 45 patients underwent associated abdominoplasty. The average age for both groups was 57, 51.7 % were women, with body mass index of 30.57 kg/m(2) for the abdominoplasty group and 27.84 kg/m(2) for the comparison group. 28.9 % of the abdominoplasty group and 31 % of the patients with a single procedure presented early complications, where surgical site infection was the most frequent event in both groups. No statistically significant difference was identified in the rate of complications (crude RR 0.90 [CI 95 % 0.437-1.870]), this difference was not affected by possible confounding variables (adjusted RR 1.09 [CI 95 % 0.60- 1.98]). Conclusions: There are no differences in complications at 30 days when abdominoplasty and incisional hernia repair are performed in the same surgical time. The simultaneous performance of these procedures in specific patients could avoid an additional intervention.