Epidural Analgesia Following Component Separation Hernia Repair: Is It Beneficial?

HTML  Download Download as PDF (Size: 59KB)  PP. 317-321  
DOI: 10.4236/ss.2013.47062    4,157 Downloads   5,724 Views  

ABSTRACT

Purpose: Optimal pain management strategies for patients undergoing component separation hernia repair are not defined. Epidural analgesia (EA) has been shown to decrease pulmonary complications and duration of ileus and to improve pain control in other patient populations. In this study we examined outcomes of patients receiving EA after separation of components (SOC). Methods: After obtaining IRB approval, a retrospective review was performed of patients undergoing ventral hernia repair with SOC from January 2006 to October 2010 at the University of Kentucky. Patients were identified from hospital operative records. Pre-operative patient characteristics and operative data were obtained from the medical record. Information was collected relating to use of EA, complications, and length of hospitalization (LOS). Post-operative outcomes were compared between those that had epidurals and those that did not. Results: One hundred seventeen patients were identified that underwent SOC, 34 of whom had EA. These two groups were similar in relation to age, BMI, and co-morbidities. Three patients in the epidural group had complications limiting epidural durationtwo with hypotension and one with refractory pruritus. There was no difference in pneumonia, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), wound infection, urinary tract infection (UTI), recurrence, or mortality (Table 1). There was an increase in LOS (6.68 vs. 6.06 days, p < 0.01) in patients with EA. Conclusions: The use of EA results in increased LOS in patients undergoing SOC. EA associated morbidity occurs infrequently. The incidence of post-operative complications is unaffected by EA. Further studies are needed to delineate the benefit of EA in this patient population.

Share and Cite:

E. Albright, C. Bower, D. Davenport and J. Roth, "Epidural Analgesia Following Component Separation Hernia Repair: Is It Beneficial?," Surgical Science, Vol. 4 No. 7, 2013, pp. 317-321. doi: 10.4236/ss.2013.47062.

Copyright © 2024 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.

Creative Commons License

This work and the related PDF file are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.