Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35920905›Full record

ArticleSurgical endoscopy2023

Sex disparities in the treatment and outcomes of ventral and incisional hernia repair.

Ryan Howard, Anne Ehlers, Lia Delaney, Quintin Solano, Mary Shen, Michael Englesbe, Justin Dimick, Dana Telem

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Surgical endoscopy, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
14citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.1field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  5. From preoperative to postoperative: gender differences in elective ventral hernia repair.Hernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery · 2026
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  8. Impact of surgical approach on complications by sex following ventral and incisional hernia repair.Hernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Ryan HowardDepartment of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-9877-9603
Anne EhlersDepartment of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Lia DelaneyUniversity of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Quintin SolanoUniversity of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Mary ShenDepartment of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Michael EnglesbeDepartment of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Justin DimickDepartment of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Dana TelemDepartment of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. dtelem@med.umich.edu.
University of Michigan · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDespite females accounting for nearly half of ventral and incisional hernia repairs performed each year in the United States, shockingly little attention has been paid to sex disparities in hernia treatment and outcomes. We explored sex-based differences in operative approach and outcomes using a population-level hernia registry.

methodsWe performed a retrospective review of the Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative Hernia Registry (MSQC-HR) to identify patients undergoing clean ventral or incisional hernia repair between January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2021. The primary outcomes were risk-adjusted rates of laparoscopic/robotic approach, mesh use, and composite 30-day adverse events stratified by sex. Risk adjustment between sex was performed using all patient, clinical, and hernia characteristics.

results5269 patients underwent ventral and incisional hernia repair of whom 2295 (43.6%) patients were female. Mean age was 53.9 (14.5) years. Females had slightly larger hernias (3.5 cm vs. 3.0 cm, P < 0.001), fewer umbilical hernias (50.9% vs. 73.0%, P < 0.001), and a higher prevalence of prior hernia repair (17.9% vs. 13.4%, P < 0.001). In a multivariable logistic regression adjusting for differences between males and females, female sex was associated with lower odds of mesh use [aOR 0.62 (95% CI 0.52-0.74)] and higher odds of laparoscopic/robotic repair [aOR 1.26 (95% CI 1.10-1.44)]. In a similar multivariable model, female sex was also associated with significantly higher odds of composite 30-day adverse events [aOR 1.64 (95% CI 1.32-2.02)]. This equates to predicted probabilities of 11.7% (95% CI 10.3-13.0%) vs. 7.6% (95% CI 6.6-8.6%) for adverse events in females compared to males.

conclusionsDespite being younger and having fewer comorbidities, women were more likely to experience adverse events after surgery. Moreover, women were less likely to have mesh placed. Additional work is needed to understand the factors that drive these gender disparities in ventral hernia treatment and outcomes.

Indexed as

Hernia, UmbilicalIncisional HerniaLaparoscopyFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesTreatment OutcomeUnited StatesHerniaOutcomesSex as a biologic variableSex-based disparities

Identifiers

PMID35920905
OpenAlexW4289593552

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.