Chapter 40 - Abdominal hernias Flashcards
What is the definition of hernia?
Protusion of an organ through the wall of the cavity that contains that organ
What is the cavity into which intestines temporarily herniate during embryonic development?
Extra-embryonic coelom
What is the term for a muscle hernia?
Myofascial defect
What structure protrudes in a herniated disc?
Nucleus pulposus
What lines the sac of a true abdominal hernia?
Peritoneum
What type of hernia involves protrusion through an acquired opening?
False hernia
what is the term for surgical hernia repair?
Herniorrhaphy
At what age do umbilical hernias typically resolve spontaneously in foals?
6-12 months
Which horses are more frequently affected by congenital umbilical hernias?
females
Which two horse breeds show increased prevalence of umbilical hernias?
Quarter horse and THO
Umbilical herniation is dc how?
Observing protuberant sac at the umbilicus
palpating hernial ring and viscus within the sac
US (allows to ID concurrent abnormalities of umbilical remnants)
What is the diameter threshold above which umbilical hernias in foals should be corrected?
1) 3 cm or bigger
2) not solved by 1 year
3) strangulation requires surgery
What device is used to treat a hernia in foals less than 8 cm in diameter?
Elastrator rings
Figure 40-2. Elastrator rings and applicator.
What complication may indicate that a viscus is trapped within an Elastrator ring?
severe pain
What is the term for a hernia involving only the antimesenteric aspect of the intestine?
Richter hernia
Richter or parietal hernia. Only the antimesenteric surface
of the intestine is contained within the hernial sac.
What is the main goal of umbilical herniorrhapy?
- prevent intestinal incarceration and strangulation
- improve cosmetic appearance
- prevent enterocutaneous fistula
Figure 40-6. Mayo mattress suture pattern (also known as “vest-over-pants” suture pattern). This pattern is no longer recommended for closing abdominal hernias.
What type of fistula may accompany an incarcerated umbilical hernia?
Enterocutaneous fistula
What is applied if a hernia is too large for suture closure?
Prosthetic mesh
How long should a horse be confined after umbilical herniorrhaphy?
30 to 60 days and walked daily
The horse shoud be turned out into a small paddock for 30 days before regular exercise
What surgical technique avoids opening the peritoneal cavity during herniorrhaphy?
closed technique
Why Mayo mattress pattern is not longer advocated?
Because this suture pattern places excessive tension on the sutures and compromises the blood supply to the hernial ring.
What pattern is no longer recommended for closing the hernial ring due to excessive tension?
Mayo mattress pattern
Short-term complications were encountered in
11% of 38 horses undergoing repair of an incisional hernia without a mesh. The incidence of long-term complications of horses that underwent herniorrhaphy without using a mesh was even lower (4%).
During herniorrhaphy
dissection of subcutaneous tissue is extended about ___ cm beyond the hernial ring
1 cm beyound the hernial ring
What type of therapy should be administered before surgery?
Broad-spectrum antimicrobial therapy (beta lactamic and aminoglicoside)
What is the purpose of delaying hernia repair in the presence of a fistula?
Control infection, delay hernial repair until tissue is mnore sound (AB+NSAIDS) if massive amount of intestinal fluid is lost through fistula
The hernial ring is closed with No. 1 or 2 (USP) synthetic, absorbable suture material, using an _________ suture pattern
appositional suture pattern
What type of incision is used in both open and closed umbilical herniorrhaphy?
Fusiform incision
Herniorrhaphy should be performed using the open technique when?
When hernial contents are incarcerated
Figure 40-3. (A) Incarcerated umbilical hernia accompanied by an enterocutaneous fistula. (B) Intraoperative picture showing the enterocutaneous fistula, isolated using a sterile latex glove, before performing a small intestinal resection and anastomosis. (Courtesy C. Koch and D. Rodgerson, Lexington, Kentucky.)
Which two materials are used to close the abdominal wall after hernia reduction?
Synthetic absorbable sutures
There are 2 types of TOTAL dehiscence, name them
Acute total at recovery
Delayed total disruption
Why can’t dehisced celiotomy be closed in layers?
Wound is infected
What should be done when total dehiscence is imminent?
the abdomen should be supported with a bandage, and the horse anesthetized as soon as possible so that the abdominal wall can be repaired
How do you start the procedure of preparing the surgery in case of total dehiscence?
The horse is positioned in dorsal recumbency, sutures are removed, and the ventral aspect of the abdomen is prepared for surgery. Devitalized tissue is excised, the wound and abdomen are lavaged with sterile isotonic saline solution, and the wound is cultured for bacteria. The horse should be administered broad-spectrum antimicrobial therapy before surgery.
When does delayed total dehiscence usually occur postoperatively?
3 to 8 days
What caractherizes the total delayed disruption of the ventral midline incision?
Delayed total disruption of the ventral midline incision may happen 3 to 8 days postoperatively and is usually preceded by flow of peritoneal fluid from the incision and formation of gaps in the incision through which a finger can be inserted into the abdominal cavity
**What does total dehiscence of a celiotomy cause?
Eventration = total dehiscence
partial dehiscence is hernia
What is the incidence of incisional herniation after midline celiotomy
8-16%
What are the risk factors associated with incisional herniation?
postoperative drainage
sepsis of the surgical wound
repeat celiotomy
What are the measures (5) to take into account to diminish the risk of incisional complications?
- placing linea alba sutures 1.5 cm apart and 1.5 cm away from the wound’s edge
- lavaging the closed linea alba with sterile isotonic saline solution
- before closing the subcutaneous tissues,
- covering the incision with a sterile incise drape during recovery from anesthesia,
- and applying an abdominal bandage in the postoperative period
How far apart are the sutures placed in case of reconstrution total dehiscence?
far portion 5 cm from midline through skin-sscut-rectus abdominis, and NEAR portion 2.5 cm from midline through skin-sscut-musc or only skin-sscut
EXCLUDE retroperitoneal fat and peritoneum
What portions of abdominal wall are excluded from the sutures in the vertical mattress pattern of total dehiscence?
Retroperitoneal fat and peritoneum
What is used to distribute pressure and reduce tissue cutting from sutures in total dehiscence?
Hard rubber or plastic tubing 2.5 cm size
What kind of suture is used in the repair of a dehisced celiotomy?
Stainless-steel wire 18 -22 G
What is placed over the wound after surgery?
Self-adhering drape
How long after surgery are sutures and bolsters usually removed?
14 to 21 days
How can bolsters embedded in granulation tissue be located?
Ultrasonography
How long should the horse be restricted to a stall postoperatively?
60 days
What pattern is used for the sutures?
Interrupted vertical-mattress pattern
What condition may remain after successful repair of total dehiscence?
Incisional hernia
Do you suture skin and subcutaneous tissue after placing the stainless steel wire with large cutting needle?
No, the skin and subcut tissue are left unsutured to facilitate drainage.
How do you secure the sutures in the end of the placement of stainless steel wire?
By twisting the ends of the wire and the cut ends of the wire are tucked into the tubing
What is the goal of placing 2.5 cm long sections of thick hard rubber or plastic?
To distribute pressure and reduce the tendency of the wire to cut through underlying tissues
When should a chronic incisional hernia be repaired?
inhibits athletic activities, affects gestation or parturition, or if the horse’s cosmetic appearance is important to the owner - there are no reports of incarceration of intestine within an incisional hernia.
Can the dehiscence celiotomy be closed in layers or repaired with a mesh?
No because the wound is infected.
Primary closure of chronic incisional hernias without the use of prosthetic mesh decreases the risk of (advantages)
infection at the surgical site
shortens the time of sx
avoids additional cost of the mesh
Risk of adhesions between mesh and abdominal viscera are acoided
shorter duration of AB tx and hospi, and quicker return to use, without compromise of the cosmetic outcome, when compared to herniorrhaphy with implantation of a mesh
Primary closure of chronic incisional hernias without the use of prosthetic mesh disadvantages is
leaves multiple small gaps in the ventral midline after healing even if cosmetis is restore
Primary closure has been used successfully to repair chronic ventral incisional hernias up to
28 cm long or 18 cm wide
what distance should the linea alba sutures be placed in chronic incisional hernias?
linea alba sutures 1.5 cm apart and 1.5 cm away from wound edge
A) Onlay.
B) Inlay.
C) Retrorectus sublay.
Chronic incisional hernias are evident when?
2 to 3 months later (are rarely evident at the time the horse is discharged from the hospital)
2 measures are important to prepare before chronic incisional hernia surgery
- Decreasing an overweight horse’s bodyweight
- diminishing the volume of intestinal contents prior to the surgical intervention - 50% of labeled recomendation for a week prvious to sx and 24 h fasting before sx
Surgical repair of chronic incisional hernia should be postponed 3 to 4 months after the hernia has become apparent (5-7 months postop). WHY?
Place an hernia Belt and allow time for local inflammation/infection to resolve and for the hernial ring to mature, making it more apparent and more capable of retaining sutures
D) Preperitoneal sublay.
E) Underlay.
describe the closure of an incisional hernia without mesh
DR
fusiform skin incision is made over the hernia and extended 2 to 5 cm beyond the hernia’s cranial and caudal borders. The subcut tissue is dissected circumferentially from the external sheath of the rectus abdominis muscle for 4 to 5 cm beyond the hernial ring. The hernial sac is either resected (open repair) or inverted into the abdomen (closed repair), and the herniorrhaphy completed using No. 2 or 3 (USP) synthetic, absorbable suture material, placed in a simple-continuous or interrupted pattern (simple or cruciate). The subcutaneous and skin incisions are closed separately
Where is the mesh placed in the prosthetic onlay technique?
Subcutaneously and anchored to the rectus abdominis muscle
To what muscle’s external sheath is the mesh anchored in onlay mesh placement?
Rectus abdominis
What shape is the skin incision in the onlay technique?
Fusiform
What is the length of the skin incision beyond the hernial ring?
6 to 8 cm
How much of the external sheath is exposed during onlay mesh placement?
6 cm
What type of sutures are used to appose the hernial ring in the onlay technique?
Inverted cruciate
What type of suture material is used in onlay mesh placement?
Synthetic, absorbable monofilament
What pattern of suture is used to secure the open side of the mesh?
Mayo mattress pattern
How is the tension reduced on the sutured hernial ring?
Tightening Mayo sutures
How many rows of sutures are placed through the mesh and rectus sheath in the onlay technique?
Two to three
What type of suture material is used for subcutaneous closure in onlay mesh placement?
Synthetic, monofilament
How are the subcutaneous tissues closed in the onlay technique?
Two layers
One layer incorporating mesh every 2-3bites (diminish dead space and anchors mesh)
One layer normal
Describe onlay first steps ofisolating the hernial sac
commences by creating a fusiform skin incision that extends 6 to 8 cm beyond the cranial and caudal margins of the hernial ring. The skin within the fusiform incision is excised from the hernial sac, leaving the hernial sac intact. About 6 cm of the external sheath of the rectus abdominis muscle adjacent to the hernial ring is exposed circumferentially by blunt and sharp dissection. The isolated hernial sac is inverted into the abdomen, and the right and left margins of the hernial ring are apposed with preplaced inverted cruciate sutures of doubled No. 2 (USP) synthetic, absorbable monofilament suture material using a blunt needle, such as a hernia or a kidney needle.
After tying the preplaced sutures the synthetic mesh is apposed how?
After tying the preplaced sutures, a synthetic mesh (e.g., nylon, polypropylene, or polyester), the length of which corresponds to the length of the hernia, is folded in half and placed over the sutured ring. The folded edge of the mesh is sutured to the abdominal tunic with simple-interrupted sutures of No. 0 (USP), synthetic, absorbable monofilament suture material swaged to a taper needle. The open side of the folded mesh is sutured to the external sheath of the rectus abdominis muscle on the contralateral side of the hernia using preplaced sutures of the same material, inserted using a Mayo mattress pattern. Tightening the preplaced Mayo sutures in unison tightens the mesh, thereby reducing tension on the sutured hernial ring. The Mayo sutures are tied, and second and third staggered rows of simple-interrupted sutures are placed through the mesh and underlying rectus sheath axial to the first rows of sutures on each side of the hernial ring. Excess mesh abaxial to the sutures is trimmed, and excess skin, if any, is excised. The subcut tissues are closed in 2 layers, using No. 0 (USP) synthetic, monofilament suture material inserted in a simple-continuous pattern. The skin is apposed using staples.
What is used to appose the skin in the onlay technique?
Staples
What was the incidence of complications in one study using onlay mesh placement?
Higher incidence of complications Four out of nine
Included colic (1 horse) and implant infection (3 horses)
Describe in what consists inlay (interposition) technique
Using the inlay (interposition) technique of repair, the mesh is placed in the hernial defect and secured circumferentially to the edges of the hernial ring.
Describe the surgical approach of inlay tx
DR, asepsis
Semicircular incision beyond the hernial ring
Dissectº sscut and hernial sac separated
Hernial sac incised adjacent to skin incision and reflected toward the contralat side
Folded mesh sutured to this exposed edge with nonabsorb mat interrupted horizontal mattress pattern
Peritoneum and retro fat separated from edge
Hernial sac separated from fibrous ring, Mayo sutures through the folded mesh with nonabsorb sutures –> tying preplaced sutures –> tigheten mesh accross defect
Incise edge of hernial sac attached to rectus abdominis
SScut +skin closed routinely
What technique combines mesh inlay with fascial overlay?
Inlay with fascial overlay
prosthetic mesh sublay with primary closure or with fascial overlay has two tx: retrorectus sublay and preperitoneal sublay. What is the difference?
Retrorectus sublay technique the mesh is implanted btw rectus abdominis and its internal sheath
Preperitoneal sublay technique mesh is between peritoneum and internal sheath rectus abdominis
What type of suture material is used for inlay with fascial overlay?
Synthetic, nonabsorbable
Describe how to creat the pocket for mesh insertion in the mesh sublay
Fusiform skin incision, hernial sac separation using blunt/sharp dissection
Pocket creation for mesh insertion
Undermining hernial ring superficial to peritoneum (preperitoneal sublay) or
Sharply incising free edge of hernial ring and creating space between rectus abdominis muscle and its internal sheath (retrorectus sublay)