Preoperative botulinum toxin A injection in complex abdominal wall reconstruction- a propensity-scored matched study.

Abstract Introduction Fascial closure during complex abdominal wall reconstruction (AWR) improves recurrence and wound infection rates. To facilitate fascial closure in massive ventral hernias preoperative Botulinum Toxin A (BTA) injection can be used. Methods 2:1 propensity-scored matching of patients undergoing AWR with and without BTA was performed based on BMI, defect width, and loss of domain using CT-volumetric analysis. Results 145 patients without BTA and 75 with BTA were comparable on hernia size (240vs251cm2, p = 0.589) and hernia volume (1405vs1672cm3, p = 0.243). Patients with BTA had higher wound class (CDC≥3 37%vs13%, p  Conclusion In patients with massive ventral hernias and severe loss of domain, preoperative BTA-injection improves fascial closure rates during AWR.