Medical device and MedTech insights, news, tips and more

Chicago—Patients with ventral hernias say pain relief is the most important outcome that could affect their quality of life, rating it above fear of potential complications or any limits to their functioning, according to a new survey study.

Furthermore, at follow-up interviews six months after their initial surgical consult, patients who had undergone surgical repair were extremely satisfied and rated their quality of life as high, whereas those who did not receive surgical repair were unhappy and rated their quality of life as low.

Lead author Zeinab M. Alawadi, MD, a surgical resident at the University of Texas at Houston, said the findings demonstrate the potential pitfalls of the increasingly common strategy of restricting elective repairs to patients who have a “good prognosis” of successful repair.

“Like much of medicine, good prognosis is measured by metrics deemed important to clinicians but may not reflect the patients’ perspective or account for what the patient considers to be important,” said Dr. Alawadi. “While current strategies may improve hospital quality metrics, they may not be [in] line with patient wishes and desires.”

Dr. Alawadi presented the findings at the 2015 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons, where she received an Excellence in Research Award for her work.

Dr. Alawadi and her colleagues conducted interviews with 31 adult patients with ventral hernias, who were seeking care at a single safety-net hospital. The interviews were conducted before the initial surgical consult and six months later, regardless of whether the patient had surgery. Eight patients in the group underwent hernia repair within the six-month time frame.

Read More – Source: Hernia Patients, Surgeons Not Always Aligned – General Surgery News

By: Christina Frangou