A comparative study of abdominal wall hernia surgery before and after the COVID-19 pandemic: Results from a 2-year observational period

BACKGROUND: Abdominal wall hernia surgery is among the most common procedures in general surgery. It is thought that postponing elective hernia surgeries due to the pandemic will increase emergency presentations of hernias, but different data have been published in the literature. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on emergency and elective hernia operations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients who underwent hernia surgery in the Istanbul Sultanbeyli State Hospital between March 2018 and March 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. March 11, 2018–March 11, 2020, and March 12, 2020–March 12, 2022, were categorized as prepandemic and pandemic periods, respectively, and were evaluated as 1-year periods. All abdominal wall hernia operations performed in the hospital were examined. RESULTS: A total of 1644 patients underwent hernia operations. Patients’ ages ranged from 18 to 87 years; the mean age was 47.5 ± 13.6. A total of 1319 (80%) of patients were men. There was a 50% decrease in the number of surgeries during the pandemic, but there was no significant increase in emergency surgeries (P = 0.49). Incisional and ventral hernia procedures declined dramatically over the COVID-19 pandemic compared with the prepandemic period, whereas inguinal hernia surgeries increased proportionally (P = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: While a decrease was observed in total abdominal hernia surgeries performed during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with the prepandemic period, no significant increase was found in emergency abdominal hernia surgeries. Patients with ventral and incisional hernias can be followed up to be operated on under optimal conditions.