Prospective study on the presentation and outcome of patients with an acute hernia.

Recent advances in hernia surgery should help to make operation more acceptable to patients and their doctors. The aim of this study was to prospectively assess the presentation and management of patients with an acute hernia in light of these changes. Data on all patients admitted with an acute hernia between March 2001 and February 2004 was entered on a prospective database. During the 3 year study period, of the 91 patients admitted with an acute hernia, 41 were ventral, 24 femoral, 24 inguinal and 2 parastomal. Forty-six had a previous medical assessment, 18 of these had been declared unfit for operation at that assessment; ten were ASA4 (ASA, American Society of Anaesthesiology), five ASA3 and three ASA2. Eleven patients were on the waiting list for operation, three of whom had a previous acute hospital admission. For 30 patients this hospital admission was the first indication that they had a hernia while the remaining were aware that they had a hernia but did not seek medical advice. Of the five patients who died, two while being assessed for operation and three postoperatively, three were ASA4 and had a ventral hernia while two were ASA3 with a femoral hernia. Despite advances in hernia surgery there is still room for improvement in preoperative assessment of patients presenting with an acute hernia.