Background: Recent improvements in incisional hernia repair have led to lower rates of recurrence. As a consequence, increasing attention has been paid to patient-reported outcomes after surgery. However, there is no consensus on how to measure patients' quality of life after incisional hernia repair. The aim of this systematic review was to analyze existing standardized methods to measure quality of life after incisional hernia repair.
Data sources: A PubMed and Embase search was carried out together with a cross-reference search of eligible papers, giving a total of 26 included studies.
Conclusions: Different standardized methods for measurement of quality of life after incisional hernia repair are available, but no consensus on the optimal method, timing, or length of follow-up exist. International guidelines could help standardization, enabling better comparison between studies.
Keywords: Hernia; Incisional hernia; Pain; Patient-reported outcome; Quality of life; Questionnaire.
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