Transumbilical versus circumumbilical abdominal incision: a case control study

Objective To compare the clinical efficacy of transumbilical and circumumbilical abdominal incision in the abdominal surgery. Methods The clinical data of 71 patients who underwent open surgery at the Beijing Tiantan Hospital from May 2011 to April 2013 were retrospectively analyzed. All the patients were divided into the transumbilical group ( n =41) and circumumbilical group ( n =30) according to the selection of incisions. The intraoperative conditions of patients and incisionrelated complications between the 2 groups were analyzed. Patients were followed up by outpatient examination and reexamination till December 2013. The measurement data with normal distribution were presented as±s and analyzed using t test, and the count data were analyzed using the chi-square test or Fisher exact probability. Results The type Ⅱ and type Ⅲ incisions were used in 38 and 3 patients in the transumbilical group and 28 and 2 patients in the circumumbilical group, respectively, showing no significant difference between the 2 groups ( P>0. 05) . The operation time and volume of intraoperative blood loss in the transumbilical group and in the circumumbilical group were (186 ± 43) minutes, (255 ± 152) mL and (196 ± 55 ) minutes, (326 ± 172 ) mL, respectively, with no significant difference between the 2 groups ( t=–0. 807, –1. 799 , P >0. 05) . The length of incision in the transumbilical group was (14.3 ± 4.3) cm, which was significantly different from (17.3 ± 2.9) cm in the circumumbilical group ( t=–3. 288, P 0. 05) . All the 71 patients were followed up for 8–26 months , with a median time of 15 months. The surgical wounds between the 2 groups healed well. The abdominal incisions in the transumbilical group were in a straight-line shape, without occurrence of other complications. Conclusion Transumbilical incision compared with circumumbilical incision in abdominal operations has a shorter length, without increasing incision-related complications and with cosmetic benefits. Key words: Wound complications; Abdominal midline incision; Umbilicus incision; Umbilicus