Environmental Risk Factors of Mesh Infection After Abdominal Wall Hernia Repair

Mesh infection is the main complication in abdominal hernia repair. In case of infection, a conservative management of mesh is not always possible. The removal of the mesh (occurring in 5.1% to 8% of wall hernia repair) increases the risk of recurrence and surgical morbidity. Within our digestive surgery department (CHRU de Nancy), an infection rate of 10.7% (32 cases out of 298 patients with wall hernia repair) was observed between January 2016 and December 2018. This rate is higher than those usually described in the literature. Several studies have identified predictors of mesh infection and explantation after abdominal wall hernia repair. The influence of the operating environment (temperature, hygrometry, pressure, number of people present, etc.) has, to our knowledge, never been studied. If the risk of prosthesis infection is influenced by one or more of these extrinsic characteristics, it is possible to act on these practices to reduce this risk. The main purpose of this study is to identify the characteristics specific to the intervention and the operating environment associated with mesh infection after abdominal wall hernia reconstruction