Oc-012 nationwide analysis of short-term outcomes after laparoscopic ipom vs. robot-assisted retromuscular repair of small to medium ventral hernia

Abstract Aim With the introduction of a robot-assisted approach, retromuscular mesh placement is technically more feasible compared to laparoscopic IPOM, with potential gains for the patient, including avoidance of painful mesh fixation and intraperitoneal mesh placement. We aimed to examine the short-term outcomes after laparoscopic intraperitoneal onlay mesh (IPOM) compared to robot-assisted retromuscular repair of small to medium sized ventral hernia. Material & Methods This was a nationwide cohort study of all patients undergoing either laparoscopic IPOM or robot-assisted retromuscular repair of a ventral hernia with a horizontal fascial defect <7 cm in the period 2017 to 2022. Outcomes included postoperative hospital length of stay, 90-day readmission, and 90-day operative reintervention, and multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to adjust for the relevant confounder. Results A total of 2,453 patients were included for analysis, of which 389 patients underwent robot-assisted retromuscular hernia repair and 2,064 laparoscopic IPOM repair. The rate of IPOM repaired patients hospitalized more than 2 days was 4 times higher than after robotic retromuscular repair (18.2% vs. 4.5%, P < 0.001). The incidence of readmission within 90 days postoperatively was significantly higher after laparoscopic IPOM repair (10.9% vs. 6.7%, P = 0.016). There was no difference in the incidence of patients undergoing operative intervention within the first 90 days postoperatively (laparoscopic IPOM 1.8% vs. robot-assisted retromuscular 1.3%, P = 0.579). Conclusions Robot-assisted retromuscular ventral hernia repair was associated with a significantly reduced incidence of prolonged length of postoperative hospital stay and risk of 90-day compared to laparoscopic IPOM.