Parastomal Hernia Repair Utilizing the Retromuscular Sugarbaker Versus Keyhole Mesh Techniques

Overview

This will be a randomized controlled trial comparing the incidence of radiographic hernia recurrence 2 years after parastomal hernia repair utilizing the retro-muscular Sugarbaker technique compared to the retro-muscular keyhole mesh technique. The primary endpoint will be recurrence at two years. Secondary endpoints will be the incidence of mesh-related complications, all 30-day complication rates, and hospital length of stay. Patients eligible for the study will be 18 years or older with a parastomal hernia that requires open repair retromuscular repair without ostomy reversal as determined by one of five hernia surgeons who will participate in this study at the investigators' institution. All patients will be marked for a new stoma site preoperatively. Patients who have insufficient bowel length suitable for either technique will be excluded intraoperatively. Patients enrolled in the study will be entered in the Americas Hernia Society Quality Collaborative database by the attending surgeon. The database houses patient demographics, medical comorbidities, operative details, and postoperative outcomes - all entered by the attending surgeon.

Recent estimates approximate that 120,000 ostomies are created yearly, with an overall prevalence greater than 800,000. Parastomal hernia formation is the most common complication thereof, as most reviews acknowledge a rate of 50%, which increases to 75% for patients with a waist circumference \>100cm. As patients live longer and rates of obesity climb, the sequelae of parastomal hernias do as well, including difficulty fitting stoma appliances, parastomal skin breakdown, pain, and obstructive episodes - all negatively impacting the patient's quality of life and compelling them to seek repair. Recent data from the Americas Hernia Society Quality Collaborative (AHSQC) - a quality improvement hernia registry of surgeon-entered patient demographics, operative details, and outcomes - found that only 22% of stomas were reversible at the time of their parastomal hernia operation.\[7\] So in the vast majority of cases, the surgeon must decide the optimal technique for repair in the presence of a persistent stoma. Decision-making includes open versus laparoscopic approaches, stoma re-siting versus leaving it in situ, use of mesh, and mesh orientation relative to the bowel. The same AHSQC analysis found that mesh is used in 94% of repairs, and almost 80% are repaired open, likely due to the need for repair of a concomitant midline incisional hernia that frequently exists. As a high-volume hernia center, the investigators' preference has been to perform an open retromuscular repair with a transversus abdominis release (TAR) and retromuscular mesh placement, allowing for reinforcement of the midline, stoma, and prior stoma site if the stoma was re-sited. The stoma can be brought through a keyhole incision in the retromuscular mesh. The investigators' hernia recurrence rate at just 13-months mean follow-up was previously found to be 11%. A more recent audit of parastomal hernia repairs among the investigators using the aforementioned "keyhole" technique with a minimum of 1-year follow-up found a 17% rate of radiographic recurrence and 33% "composite" recurrence rate - patients who feel a bulge, regardless of their radiographic results. Recently, Pauli et al. reported the results of a novel technique for parastomal hernia repair at the 2018 International Hernia Congress with exciting early results. The technique is similar to the investigators' approach with a bilateral transversus abdominis release and placement of a retromuscular mesh reinforcement. However, rather than bringing the stoma through a keyhole defect in the mesh, it is draped over the mesh in the retromuscular space akin to a Sugarbaker repair offsetting the defect in the mesh and the fascia. Six surgeons reported their results of 44 patients with a mean follow-up of 10 months, with a 4.5% (n=2) recurrence rate, with no reports of mesh erosion or stoma necrosis. Given the excellent early results of this novel approach, the investigators hypothesize that the retromuscular Sugarbaker technique would dramatically reduce hernia recurrence compared to the traditional keyhole repair.