Systematic review and meta-analysis of postoperative outcomes after combined stoma reversal and incisional hernia repair versus stoma reversal alone.

BACKGROUND

The optimal management and timing of the abdominal wall reconstruction concomitantly performed with stoma closure are controversial. This study aims to compare short-term postoperative outcomes after concurrent stoma reversal (SR) with incisional hernia repair (IHR) and SR alone.

METHODS

PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus and Web of Science databases were consulted to identify comparative studies. Random and common-effect models were used for the pooled analysis of the proportions and means.

RESULTS

Three studies met the inclusion criteria and a total of 504 patients who underwent simultaneous SR and IHR (N.=200) or SR alone (N.=304) were included in the meta-analysis. Postoperative morbidity increased after combined stoma and hernia surgery with a pooled OR for Surgical Site Occurrence (SSO) and severe postoperative complications (Clavien-Dindo ≥III) of 1.72 (95% CI 1.02-2.90) and 3.83 (95% CI 1.46-10.02), respectively. No significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of mortality (OR: 1.66; 95% CI 0.64-4.27), length of hospital stay (OR: 1.37; 95% CI 0.73-3.47). and readmission rate (OR: 1.17; 95% CI 0.67-2.06).

CONCLUSIONS

There is limited evidence suggesting that synchronous repair of SR and IH appears to be associated with a higher risk of SSO and severe postoperative complications. Therefore, a stepwise approach may be considered the best strategy in this setting.