Hernia- Ventral/Incision/Umbilical

What do I need to know about this procedure?

This procedure is where burn areas of tissue are removed and may be replaced with a skin graft/s taken from other areas of the body or from other donors.

Anaesthetic

This procedure will require an anaesthetic.

What are the risks of this specific procedure?

There are risks and complications with this procedure.
They include but are not limited to the following:

General risks:

• Infection can occur, requiring antibiotics and further treatment.
• Bleeding could occur and may require a return to the operating room. Bleeding is more common if you have been taking blood thinning drugs such as Warfarin, Asprin, Clopidogrel (Plavix or Iscover) or Dipyridamole (Persantin or Asasantin).
• Small areas of the lung can collapse, increasing the risk of chest infection. This may need antibiotics and physiotherapy.
• Increased risk in obese people of wound infection, chest infection, heart and lung complications, and thrombosis.
• Heart attack or stroke could occur due to the strain on the heart.
• Blood clot in the leg (DVT) causing pain and swelling. In rare cases, part of the clot may break off and go to the lungs.
• Death as a result of this procedure is possible.

Specific risks:

• You may have difficulty passing urine after the operation and may need a catheter passed into the bladder.
• Rarely in emergency hernia repairs, bowel injury due to strangulation of the bowel in the hernia.
• This may require further surgery.
• Some deformity of the abdominal wall due to movement of tissue to repair the hernia. This is permanent.
• The umibilcus may need to be removed or its position changed. This may be disfiguring.
• In some people healing of the wound may be abnormal and the wound can be thickened and the wound may be painful.
• Rarely the hernia may recur, i.e. come back. The risks are approximately 1-7% for single or bilateral hernias or higher for recurrent hernias. This may require further surgery.
• Recurrent herniae are more prone to the risks as stated above.