Objective To investigate the application value of transversus abdominis muscle release technique in giant ventral hernia repair.

Methods The retrospective and descriptive study was conducted. The clinical data of 72 patients with giant ventral hernia who were admitted to Beijing Chaoyang Hospital of Capital Medical University from January 2017 to January 2020 were collected. There were 47 males and 25 females, aged from 29 to 79 years, with a median age of 56 years. All patients underwent ventral hernia repair with transversus abdominis muscle release technique and preperitoneal/retro-muscular polypropylene mesh reinforcement. Observation indicators: (1) surgical situations; (2) postoperative complications; (3) hernia-related quality of life. Follow-up was conducted using outpatient examination and telephone interview to detect postoperative complications at postoperative 1, 6 and 12 months. Follow-up was up to January 2021. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean±SD, and comparison within groups was analyzed using the paired t test. Measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M (range). Count data were described as absolute numbers.

Results (1) Surgical situations: all 72 patients underwent ventral hernia repair with transversus abdominis muscle release technique and preperitoneal/retro-muscular polypropylene mesh reinforcement successfully. The operation time, volume of intraoperative blood loss and mesh size of the 72 patients were (105±46)minutes, (55±15)mL and (680±225)cm², respectively. (2) Postoperative complications: 72 patients were followed up for 12 to 48 months, with a median follow-up time of 16 months. During the follow-up, 7 of the 72 patients were diagnosed with seroma by abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan at postoperative 1 week, the size of which was (460±130)mm². The 7 patients with seroma were followed up and results of abdominal CT scan at postoperative 6 months showed that the seroma was completely absorbed. Two of the 72 patients had postoperative intestinal obstruction, which was considered as postoperative paralytic ileus. After conservative treatment, the 2 patients were improved 2 weeks after operation. None of the 72 patients had surgical site infection, intestinal fistula or hernia recurrence. (3) Hernia-related quality of life: the score of hernia-related quality of life of 72 patients before operation and at postoperative 12 months were 40±12 and 73±17, respectively, showing a significant difference (t=12.527, P<0.05).

Conclusion Transversus abdominis muscle release technique in the giant ventral hernia repair is safe and effective, which can improve hernia-related quality of life of patients.