Sex Differences in Opioid-Sparing Regimen Prescribing Following Ventral Hernia Repair.

Introduction: While sex differences are known to have a clinically relevant impact on the response to pain therapy, current data are still largely equivocal on sex-specific postoperative pain management. The aim of this study is to determine whether sex predicts differences in pain management in patients undergoing ventral hernia repair (VHR).

Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data for VHR from the Abdominal Core Health Quality Collaborative.

Determining the impact of individual ventral hernia repair complications on patient-reported quality of life.

Purpose: Ventral hernia repair (VHR) postoperative complications vary in presentation, management, and severity. The aim of this study is to determine the impact of individual postoperative complications on long-term quality of life (QoL) after VHR.

Methods: Data from the Abdominal Core Health Quality Collaborative were analyzed retrospectively.

Comparative effectiveness of surgeon-performed transversus abdominis plane blocks and epidural catheters following open hernia repair with transversus abdominis release.

Purpose: Recovery protocols aim to limit narcotic administration following ventral hernia repair (VHR). However, little is known about the contribution of a protocol's individual components on patient outcomes. We previously reported that surgeon-performed transversus abdominis plane block (TAP-block) is more effective than ultrasound-guided TAP-block following VHR.

Optimizing Hospital Resource Utilization in Bariatric Readmission.

Background And Objectives: The prevalence of patients with a history of bariatric surgery is climbing. Medical and surgical questions arising in this patient population may prompt them to present to the nearest emergency department (ED), irrespective of that facility's experience with bariatric surgery. The emergency physician is the first to evaluate patients with a history of bariatric surgery who present with abdominal symptoms.

Direct visualization transversus abdominis plane blocks offer superior pain control compared to ultrasound guided blocks following open posterior component separation hernia repairs.

Purpose: Transversus abdominis plane (TAP) blockade with long-acting anesthetic can be used during open ventral hernia repair (VHR) with posterior component separation (PCS). TAP block can be performed under ultrasound guidance (US-TAP) or under direct visualization (DV-TAP). We hypothesized that US-TAP and DV-TAP provide equivalent postoperative analgesia following open VHR.