Effect of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on planned and emergency hernia repair in Sweden: a register-based study

PURPOSE: The COVID-19 has had a profound impact on the health care delivery in Sweden, including deprioritization of benign surgeries during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on emergency and planned hernia repair in Sweden. METHODS: Data on hernia repairs from January 2016 to December 2021 were retrieved from the Swedish Patient Register using procedural codes. Two groups were formed: COVID-19 group (January 2020–December 2021) and control group (January 2016–December 2019). Demographic data on mean age, gender, and type of hernia were collected. RESULTS: This study showed a weak negative correlation between the number of elective hernia repairs performed each month during the pandemic and the number of emergency repairs carried out during the following 3 months for inguinal hernia repair (p = 0.114) and incisional hernia repair (p = 0.193), whereas there was no correlation for femoral or umbilical hernia repairs. CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 pandemic had a great impact on planned hernia surgeries in Sweden, but our hypothesis that postponing planned repairs would increase the risk of emergency events was not supported.