Objectives: We conducted a systematic review to determine the incidence of postoperative incision hernia in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm compared to those with aortoiliac occlusive disease.
Methods: Studies which compared the incidence of postoperative incision hernia in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm and aortoiliac occlusive disease undergoing midline incision for arterial reconstruction were identified. MEDLINE was searched for articles published between January 1966 and September 2005.
Results: Our search identified seven studies including data on 1132 patients, 719 with abdominal aortic aneurysm and 413 with aortoiliac occlusive disease. Pooled analysis demonstrated that patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm had a 2.9-fold increased risk of inguinal hernia (odds ratio 2.85, 95% confidence interval 1.71-4.77, p<0.0001), and a 2.8-fold risk of incisional hernia (2.79, 1.88-4.13, p<0.0001). Adjusting for other known risk factors patients with aortic aneurysm had a 5-fold increased risk of incisional hernia (5.45, 2.48-11.94, p<0.0001).
Conclusions: Patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm appear to have an approximately 3-fold increased risk for both inguinal and postoperative incision hernia compared to patients with aortoiliac occlusive disease. A large multi-centre prospective study is needed to confirm the results of this review.