R.P.G ten Broek

Burden of adhesions in abdominal and pelvic surgery: systematic review and met-analysis

Objective To estimate the disease burden of the most important complications of postoperative abdominal adhesions: small bowel obstruction, difficulties at reoperation, infertility, and chronic pain. Design Systematic review and meta-analyses. Data sources Searches of PubMed, Embase, and Central, from January 1990 to December 2012, without restrictions to publication status or language. Study selection All types of studies reporting on the incidence of adhesion related complications were considered. Data extraction and analysis The primary outcome was the incidence of adhesive small bowel obstruction in patients with a history of abdominal surgery. Secondary outcomes were the incidence of small bowel obstruction by any cause, difference in operative time, enterotomy during adhesiolysis, and pregnancy rate after abdominal surgery. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were done to study the robustness of the results. A random effects model was used to account for heterogeneity between studies. Results We identified 196 eligible papers. Heterogeneity was considerable for almost all meta-analyses. The origin of heterogeneity could not be explained by study design, study quality, publication date, anatomical site of operation, or operative technique. The incidence of small bowel obstruction by any cause after abdominal surgery was 9% (95% confidence interval 7% to 10%; I2=99%). the incidence of adhesive small bowel obstruction was 2% (2% to 3%; I2=93%); presence of adhesions was generally confirmed by emergent reoperation. In patients with a known cause of small bowel obstruction, adhesions were the single most common cause (56%, 49% to 64%; I2=96%). Operative time was prolonged by 15 minutes (95% confidence interval 9.3 to 21.1 minutes; I2=85%) in patients with previous surgery. Use of adhesiolysis resulted in a 6% (4% to 8%; I2=89%) incidence of iatrogenic bowel injury. The pregnancy rate after colorectal surgery in patients with inflammatory bowel disease was 50% (37% to 63%; I2=94%), which was significantly lower than the pregnancy rate in medically treated patients (82%, 70% to 94%; I2=97%). Conclusions This review provides detailed and systematically analysed knowledge of the disease burden of adhesions. Complications of postoperative adhesion formation are frequent, have a large negative effect on patients’ health, and increase workload in clinical practice. The quantitative effects should be interpreted with caution owing to large heterogeneity. Registration The review protocol was registered through PROSPERO (CRD42012003180).

Adhesiolysis-Related Morbidity in Abdominal Surgery.

Objective:To determine the incidence of bowel injury in operations requiring adhesiolysis and to assess the impact of adhesiolysis on the incidence of surgical complications, postoperative morbidity, and costs. Background:Morbidity of adhesiolysis during abdominal surgery seems an important health care problem, but the direct impact of adhesiolysis on inadvertent organ damage, morbidity, and costs is unknown. Methods:In a prospective cohort study, detailed data on adhesiolysis were gathered by direct observation during elective abdominal surgery. Comparison was made between surgical procedures with and without adhesiolysis on the incidence of inadvertent bowel defects. Secondary outcomes were the effect of adhesiolysis and bowel injury on surgical complications, other morbidity, and costs. Results:A total of 755 (out of 844) surgeries in 715 patients were included. Adhesiolysis was required in 475 (62.9%) of operations. Median adhesiolysis time was 20 minutes (range: 1–177). Fifty patients (10.5%) undergoing adhesiolysis inadvertently incurred bowel defect, compared with 0 (0%) without adhesiolysis (P < 0.001). In univariate and multivariate analyses, adhesiolysis was associated with an increase of sepsis incidence [odds ratio (OR): 5.12; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06–24.71], intra-abdominal complications (OR: 3.46; 95% CI: 1.49–8.05) and wound infection (OR: 2.45; 95% CI: 1.01–5.94), longer hospital stay (2.06 ± 1.06 days), and higher hospital costs [

Altered central pain processing after pancreatic surgery for chronic pancreatitis

18,579 (15,204–21,954) vs

Epidemiology and Prevention of Postsurgical Adhesions Revisited.

14,063 (12,471–15,655)]. Mortality after adhesiolysis complicated by a bowel defect was 4 out of 50 (8%), compared with 7 out of 425 (1.6%) after uncomplicated adhesiolysis (OR: 5.19; 95% CI: 1.47–18.41). Conclusions:Adhesiolysis and inadvertent bowel injury have a large negative effect on the convalescence after abdominal surgery. The awareness of adhesion-related morbidity during reoperation and the prevention of postsurgical adhesion deserve priority in research and clinical practice.

Adhesiolysis in Patients Undergoing a Repeat Median Laparotomy.

Chronic abdominal pain is common in chronic pancreatitis (CP) and may involve altered central pain processing. This study evaluated the relationship between pain processing and pain outcome after pancreatic duct decompression and/or pancreatic resection in patients with CP.

Multicenter Observational Study of Adhesion Formation After Open-and Laparoscopic Surgery for Colorectal Cancer

OBJECTIVE To provide a comprehensive review of recent epidemiologic data on the burden of adhesion-related complications and adhesion prevention. Second, we elaborate on economic considerations for the application of antiadhesion barriers. BACKGROUND Because the landmark SCAR studies elucidated the impact of adhesions on readmissions for long-term complications of abdominal surgery, adhesions are widely recognized as one of the most common causes for complications after abdominal surgery. Concurrently, interest in adhesion prevention revived and several new antiadhesion barriers were developed. Although these barriers have now been around for more than a decade, adhesion prevention is still seldom applied. METHODS The first part of this article is a narrative review evaluating the results of recent epidemiological studies on adhesion-related complications and adhesion prevention. In part II, these epidemiological data are translated into a cost model of adhesion-related complications and the potential cost-effectiveness of antiadhesion barriers is explored. RESULTS New epidemiologic data warrant a shift in our understanding of the socioeconomic burden of adhesion-related complications and the indications for adhesion prevention strategies. Increasing evidence from cohort studies and systematic reviews shows that difficulties during reoperations, rather than small bowel obstructions, account for the majority of adhesion-related morbidity. Laparoscopy and antiadhesion barriers have proven to reduce adhesion formation and related morbidity. The direct health care costs associated with treatment of adhesion-related complications within the first 5 years after surgery are

Surgical treatment of adhesion-related chronic abdominal and pelvic pain after gynaecological and general surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis

2350 following open surgery and

Impact of Adhesiolysis on Outcome of Colorectal Surgery.

970 after laparoscopy. Costs are about 50% higher in fertile-age female patients. Application of an antiadhesion barriers could save between

A Shared Decision Approach to Chronic Abdominal Pain Based on Cine-MRI: A Prospective Cohort Study

328 and

Laparoscopic reintervention in colorectal surgery.

680 after open surgery. After laparoscopy, the costs impact ranges from