Open repair of incisional ventral abdominal hernias with mesh leads to long-term improvement in pain interference as measured by patient-reported outcomes

Background The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System was used to evaluate the effects of open incisional ventral hernia repair on hernia-related pain. Methods All patients who underwent elective repair of a primary or recurrent midline incisional hernia over a 3-year period completed Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System pain surveys and rated their pain intensity on a visual analogue scale. A retrospective review of these patients was performed. Results Seventy-seven patients underwent midline incisional ventral hernia repair and completed preoperative and postoperative surveys. Thirty-eight patients completed surveys at least 6 months after surgery. These patients demonstrated significant improvement in pain interference postoperatively (P <.05) but not in pain behavior. Patients with higher pain intensity scores preoperatively had greater improvements in pain behavior and pain interference postoperatively. Conclusions Patients with incisional ventral hernias have improvement in pain interference 6 months after open surgical repair. Changes are most pronounced in patients who experience higher magnitudes of pain preoperatively.