Incisional Hernia in Infants and Children

Background: incisional hernia in children and infants (IHCI) represents a major complication following exploration. The condition is associated with prolonged hospital stay, readmission and the need for another operation to treat the resulting incisional hernia. The incidence is variable worldwide. The leading causes are still indeterminate as well as the management strategy. We aimed at studying IHCI at a tertiary level hospital as regard presenting symptoms, methods of management and its impact on the quality of life of patients.

Methods: a retrospective study included all infants and children presented with incisional hernia. Patients were categorized in to two groups according to the age of presentation, group A patients younger than two years of age and group B patients older than two years. All data related to the first operation in addition to data related to repair of the incisional hernia were collected in special charts.