ArticleHernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery2026
The impact of active smoking on postoperative morbidity and hernia recurrence following abdominal wall reconstruction: long-term follow-up.
Article in Hernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Effect of improved preoperative activity levels and smoking cessation on ventral hernia repair outcomes.Surgical endoscopy · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionActive smoking is widely regarded as a risk factor for wound morbidity and adverse outcomes in abdominal wall reconstruction (AWR), often serving as a contraindication to elective repair. However, its independent impact on long-term complications remains poorly characterized.
methodsThis study utilized the prospectively maintained ACHQC registry, included patients who underwent open, elective, clean ventral hernia repair (VHR) with transversus abdominis release (TAR) and permanent synthetic mesh at a high-volume AWR center between February 2019 and December 2022. All active smokers during this period were propensity matched in a 1:3 ratio to never-smokers based on demographics, comorbidities, and operative characteristics. Outcomes were assessed at early (30-day) and long-term (≥ 24 months) timepoints. Primary endpoints included wound morbidity, mesh-related complications and hernia recurrence.
resultsA total of 106 active smokers were propensity-matched to 295 never-smokers. Baseline demographics and operative variables were well balanced. At 30 days, there were no significant differences in surgical site infection (SSI) (9.4% vs. 9.2%, p = 0.92), surgical site occurrence (SSO) (21.5% vs. 17.6%, p = 0.48), or surgical site occurrence requiring procedural intervention (SSOPI) (9.4% vs. 9.2%, p = 0.92). At 24 months, rates of SSO (1.9% vs. 0.7%, p = 0.81), SSI (0% vs. 0.3%, p > 0.99), SSOPI (0% vs. 0.7%, p > 0.99), mesh infection (0.9% vs. 0%, p > 0.99), and reoperation were low and statistically similar. Hernia recurrence at ≥ 24 months was 4.7% in smokers vs. 7.8% in never-smokers (p = 0.15).
conclusionIn this analysis, active smoking was not associated with increased risk of clinically significant wound morbidity, mesh-related complications, SSOPI, or hernia recurrence. These findings support a patient-centered approach wherein smoking cessation is strongly encouraged but not mandated prior to surgical repair in appropriately selected individuals.
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