Clinical practice guidelines for the management of ventral hernia in patients at Clínica Colsanitas

Abstract

Introduction: Ventral hernia is the protrusion of the abdominal cavity contents through a defect in the abdominal wall. Its presentation is variable, with high relapse rates and sometimes undesirable outcomes that involve high care costs and significant social impact due to employee absenteeism. Objective: Giving recommendations based on the best available evidence and clinical experience to guide healthcare professionals in the timely identification and use of primary and secondary ventral hernia management options in patients at the Clínica Colsanitas. Methodology: In 2016 a guidelines developer team (GDT) was organized to do the search and select the clinical practice guidelines (CPG), together with a non-formal consensus group of experts to identify recommendations that should be adapted and suggest others based on the team’s clinical experience. The final document was reviewed and approved for use at the institution. Results: The GDT adapted recommendations for the prevention, diagnosis and surgical treatment of patients with ventral hernias based on the CPG for the diagnosis and surgical treatment of adult ventral hernias of the Mexican Secretariat of Health. Some recommendations based on the experience of the Clinic’s abdominal wall team were included. Conclusion: These management guidelines for managing patients with ventral hernias provides an information tool to guide decision-making based on the needs of the institution and the resources available, hence contributing to the improvement of quality of care and reducing any unjustified clinical variability.