Evaluation of contributory factors to postoperative wound dehiscence following hysterectomy

Abstract

Objectives: This paper reports on a retrospective analysis of medical records from patients who underwent hysterectomy for benign or malignant diseases of the female reproductive system. The study aimed to determine the relationship between postoperative wound dehiscence and various factors, including age, body mass index (BMI), and type of surgery.

Design: By design, this was a cross-sectional study.

Setting: Patients from the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at Zabok General Hospital and Croatian Veterans Hospital were retrospectively analyzed over a 4-year period (2010-2014).

Subjects or Participants: The study included all patients who underwent hysterectomy for benign or malignant diseases of the female reproductive system. Interventions: As the data was analyzed retrospectively, there were no interventions in this study.

Main Outcome Measures: The main outcome was postoperative wound dehiscence. Statistical analysis was performed with the Chi-square test and Fisher's exact test. Results: The results showed that the type of surgery significantly affects postoperative wound dehiscence, with bilateral adnexectomy being associated with a higher risk. Additionally, subjects with higher BMI values were more likely to experience postoperative wound dehiscence in hysterectomy with adnexectomy, while those with lower BMI values had wound dehiscence most often in hysterectomy with bilateral adnexectomy. Significantly, more than half of the total postoperative wound dehiscence (65.6%) was experienced by subjects with a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9.

Conclusion: The main factor that determined postoperative dehiscence was the surgical approach. Nevertheless, prevention and later treatment of obesity contribute to reducing the postoperative mortality rate.