"What really matters to the patients?": assessing the impact of wound healing on the quality of life in patients undergoing incisional hernia repair.

PURPOSE: We aim to evaluate the impact of surgical wound complications in the first 30 postoperative days after incisional hernia repair on the long-term quality of life of patients. In addition, the impact of the surgical technique and preoperative comorbidities on the quality of life of patients will also be evaluated. METHOD: Prospective cohort study, which evaluates 115 patients who underwent incisional hernioplasty between 2019 and 2020, using the onlay and retromuscular techniques. These patients were initially assessed with regard to surgical wound outcomes in the first 30 postoperative days (surgical site infection (SSI) or surgical site occurrence (SSO)), and then, assessed after three years, through a specific quality of life questionnaire, the Hernia Related Quality of Life Survey (HerQLes). RESULTS: After some patients were lost to follow-up during the study period, due to death, difficulty in contact, refusal to respond to the questionnaire, eighty patients were evaluated. Of these, 11 patients (13.8%) had SSI in the first 30 postoperative days and 37 (46.3%) had some type of SSO. The impact of both SSI and SSO on quality of life indices was not identified. When analyzing others variables, we observed that the Body Mass Index (BMI) had a significant impact on the patients' quality of life. Likewise, hernia size and mesh size were identified as variables related to a worse quality of life outcome. No difference was observed regarding the surgical techniques used. CONCLUSION: In the present study, no relationship was identified between surgical wound outcomes (SSO and SSI) and worse quality of life results using the HerQLes score. We observed that both BMI and the size of meshes and hernias showed an inversely proportional relationship with quality of life indices. However, more studies evaluating preoperative quality of life indices and comparing them with postoperative indices should be carried out to evaluate these correlations.

Anestesia en paciente con herida infectada por mordedura canina / Anesthesia in a patient with an infected wound by a canine bite

RESUMEN Introducción: Las heridas por mordeduras de perro afectan a individuos de todas las edades. En ocasiones el anestesiólogo debe enfrentar la atención a pacientes con esta afección. Objetivo: Describir la conducta anestésica en una paciente que recibió tratamiento quirúrgico urgente por presentar una herida infectada por mordedura de perro. Caso clínico: Paciente femenina de 56 años de edad, color blanco de la piel, con antecedentes de hipertensión arterial en tratamiento, quien asistió por presentar herida infectada en miembro inferior izquierdo por mordedura canina. Se indicó tratamiento con antimicrobianos y dos días después mediante la administración de anestesia general orotraqueal se realizó amputación del miembro inferior. El posoperatorio transcurrió sin complicaciones. Conclusiones: La amputación de extremidades en pacientes con mordedura canina es infrecuente y la administración de anestesia general orotraqueal para el manejo anestesiológico, asegura la eficacia del tratamiento quirúrgico.

ABSTRACT Introduction: Dog bite wounds affect individuals of all ages. Sometimes the anesthesiologist must face the care of patients with this condition. Objective: To describe the anesthetic behavior in a patient who received urgent surgical treatment due to an infected wound by dog ​​bite. Case report: 56-year-old female patient, white skin color, with a history of hypertension under treatment, who attended due to an infected wound on the left lower limb due to a canine bite. Antimicrobial treatment was indicated and two days later, by the administration of general orotracheal anesthesia, the lower limb was amputated. The postoperative period was uneventful. Conclusions: Limb amputation in patients with canine bite is infrequent and the administration of general orotracheal anesthesia for anesthesiological management ensures the efficacy of surgical treatment.