A Multidisciplinary Team Approach to Abdominal Wall Reconstruction: Assessing the Result of Combined Hernia and Plastic Surgery Techniques

Abstract Aim To evaluate short-term outcomes of patients undergoing abdominal wall reconstruction (AWR) via a combined surgical management approach involving complex abdominal hernia repair and concurrent body contouring procedures performed by general and plastic surgery teams. Material and Method A retrospective review was conducted of patients who received AWR between 2021–2024 that utilized a combined surgical technique. Procedure included abdominal wall reconstruction along with tissue expander insertion, abdominoplasty, or panniculectomy based on individual patient needs. Eight cases were included in our study, one case with skin loss due to flap necrosis from previous abdominoplasty (Figure 1), one case post deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap procedure and previous abdominoplasty, and the rest were with excess skin (Figure 2). Primary outcomes were surgical complications, hernia recurrence, and patient satisfaction. Result Among our cases who underwent AWR, eight cases underwent a combined surgical management approach with follow up from up to 16 months. Our short-term results are favourable and revealed high patient satisfaction with no evidence of hernia recurrence and excellent cosmetic outcome. Conclusion A combined surgical management and multidisciplinary team approach found to be a promising and encouraging that allows the involved teams to share their different experiences and techniques in order to provide a high quality of care and remarkable patient satisfaction.