IS POSTOPERATIVE WOUND INFECTION FOLLOWING SIMPLE INGUINAL HERNIORRHAPHY A PREDISPOSING CAUSE OF RECURRENT HERNIA?

The significance of postoperative wound infection in simple inguinal herniorrhaphy was studied in a series of almost 26,000 simple inguinal herniorrhaphies. There was a recurrence rate of about 1% in uninfected cases and 4% in infected cases. The wound infection rate was 1.8%. Of about 2500 patients with recurrent inguinal hernia admitted to the Shouldice Hospital, Toronto, following an initial operation of elsewhere, about 4% gave a history of postoperative wound infection. Postoperative wound infection after simple inguinal herniorrhaphy increased the risk of a subsequent recurrent hernia about four times. However, in more than 95% of cases other etiological factors were responsible for the recurrence. No relation between infection and type of recurrent inguinal hernia subsequently developing was demonstrable.