INTRODUCTION: Perineal hernia may be a long-term complication to conventional abdominoperineal resection or proctocolectomy. We analysed the incidence of post-operative perineal hernia repair and described patient-reported outcome measures (PROMS) after perineal hernia repair. METHODS: This was a nationwide retrospective analysis of consecutive Danish patients undergoing conventional abdominoperineal resection or proctocolectomy for rectal cancer from 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2014 combined with patients undergoing a subsequent repair for a perineal hernia during the follow-up period from 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2016. Patients were sent a quality of life questionnaire (HerQles A) and related PROMS. RESULTS: The incidence of perineal hernia repair was 0.83%. A total of 2,170 patients underwent proctocolectomy and conventional abdominoperineal resection, and 18 patients had a subsequent perineal hernia repair. Four patients developed a clinical hernia recurrence, another four patients reported moderate/severe perineal pain or heaviness during physical activity and complained of poor perception of health, and one patient reported that the perineal hernia repair had a negative impact on sexual function. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of perineal hernia repair was below 1% after conventional abdominoperineal resection and proctocolectomy. PROMS and risk of recurrence may benefit from centralising perineal hernia repair. FUNDING: none. TRIAL REGISTRATION: not relevant. Articles published in the DMJ are “open access”. This means that the articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial License, which permits any non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
INTRODUCTION: Perineal hernia may be a long-term complication to conventional abdominoperineal resection or proctocolectomy. We analysed the incidence of post-operative perineal hernia repair and described patient-reported outcome measures (PROMS) after perineal hernia repair. METHODS: This was a nationwide retrospective analysis of consecutive Danish patients undergoing conventional abdominoperineal resection or proctocolectomy for rectal cancer from 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2014 combined with patients undergoing a subsequent repair for a perineal hernia during the follow-up period from 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2016. Patients were sent a quality of life questionnaire (HerQles A) and related PROMS. RESULTS: The incidence of perineal hernia repair was 0.83%. A total of 2,170 patients underwent proctocolectomy and conventional abdominoperineal resection, and 18 patients had a subsequent perineal hernia repair. Four patients developed a clinical hernia recurrence, another four patients reported moderate/severe perineal pain or heaviness during physical activity and complained of poor perception of health, and one patient reported that the perineal hernia repair had a negative impact on sexual function. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of perineal hernia repair was below 1% after conventional abdominoperineal resection and proctocolectomy. PROMS and risk of recurrence may benefit from centralising perineal hernia repair. FUNDING: none. TRIAL REGISTRATION: not relevant. Articles published in the DMJ are “open access”. This means that the articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial License, which permits any non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.