In adjusted analysis, similar complication rates seen for combined procedures, but longer length of stay
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 9, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Combined hysterectomy and panniculectomy procedures can be performed safely; however, there is an increased likelihood of longer length of stay with combined procedures compared with hysterectomy alone, according to a study published in the September issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
Antonio Jorge Forte, M.D., from the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn., and colleagues examined 30-day outcomes following combined hysterectomy and panniculectomy versus hysterectomy alone. Females who underwent hysterectomy were identified from the 2012 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Participant Use Data Files.
The researchers identified 24,893 patients who underwent hysterectomy alone and 174 who underwent hysterectomy with concurrent panniculectomy. Combined surgery occurred more often in patients who were obese (body mass index ≥30 kg/m²), had diabetes mellitus, and had cardiovascular/pulmonary comorbidities. Patients who underwent both procedures more often experienced venous thromboembolism (2.9 versus 1.0 percent; P = 0.015) and had length of stay greater than three days (48.3 versus 29.2 percent; P < 0.001), in unadjusted analyses. No differences were seen in the proportion of patients who experienced wound complications, surgical-site infections, venous thromboembolism, medical complications, or total complications in the propensity-matched sample. Length of stay greater than three days was twice as likely for patients undergoing both procedures (odds ratio, 2.06).
“After propensity matching, only differences in length of stay were identified,” the authors write.
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