A Comparative Analysis of Four Proms to Assess Medium to Long-Term Patient Satisfaction Following Open Midline Incisional Hernia Repair

Purpose Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are increasingly recognised as the most important metric for evaluating outcomes after hernia repair. The study aim was to evaluate patient satisfaction using 4 different PROMS following open repair of midline incisional hernias. Methods 72 patients with midline incisional hernias underwent open retrorectus mesh repair, with or without component separation, and concurrent abdominoplasty between 2016–2022. They were invited to complete four PROMs including the Carolinas Comfort Scale (CCS, range 0–115), Brehaut decision regret scale (BDRS, range 5–25), Abdominoplasty questionnaire (Q-PROM, range 7–28) and Patient Scar Assessment Scale (PSAS; range 6–60). Results 50 out of 72 responses were received and analysed. The mean age of respondents was 60.6 years. The mean post-operative PROMs responses were 1260 days (range 366–2553, SD 894.3 days). Overall, the mean CCS score was 11.36 (range 0–68, SD 16.98), mean BRDS 7.10 (range 5–20, SD 3.24), mean abdominoplasty score 20.51 (range 7–28, SD 6.07) and mean PSAS score 17.36 (range 6–44, SD 11.7). Conclusion After open mesh repair of midline incisional hernias nearly all patients had self-reported highly satisfactory outcomes and quality of life in the medium to long term. Embedding PROMs into follow-up regimes improves understanding of post-operative outcomes, enables better decision making and development of management strategies.