Parastomal Hernia Repair; Seldom Performed and Seldom Reported: Results From a Nationwide Survey

Background: Parastomal hernia is common, but there are few population-based studies showing the frequency and outcome of parastomal hernia repair in routine surgical practice. The aim of this study was to identify patients undergoing surgery for parastomal hernia in Sweden and to define risk factors for complication and recurrence. Methods: A broad search of the Swedish National Patient Register 1998–2007 for all possible parastomal hernia repairs using surgical procedure codes. Records of all patients identified were reviewed and those with a definite parastomal hernia procedure were included and analyzed. Results: A total of 71 patients were identified after review of the records. The most common reason for surgery was cosmetic and the most frequent method was relocation of the stoma. Parastomal hernia recurrence rate was 18% during follow-up of a minimum 2 years. Overall, a surgical complication occurred in 32%. Possible risk factors were analyzed including emergency surgery versus planned, gender, age, indication for surgery, and method of surgery; none of which was significant. Conclusion: The frequency of parastomal hernia procedures was much lower than suggested by previous studies. The number of procedures per surgeon was even lower than expected. No specific risk factor could be identified. Parastomal hernia auditing in the form of a nationwide quality register should be mandatory. Centralization should be considered.