Inhalant exposure and outcomes after inguinal hernia repair: cigarette, cannabis, and vaping effects by…

Cohort studyHernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery· Jul 2026

Inhalant exposure and outcomes after inguinal hernia repair: cigarette, cannabis, and vaping effects by surgical approach.

Amir Ghafarian, Mohammad Ghafarian, Muaaz Wajahath … Abbasali Badami

Hernia & Abdominal WallCohort studyClinical practiceQ1IF 2.3

Cigarette smoking raised laparoscopic hernia repair wound complication risk nearly two-fold.

Inhalant exposure and outcomes after inguinal hernia repair: cigarette, cannabis, and vaping effects by surgical approach.

Amir Ghafarian … Abbasali Badami

Hernia · Jul 2026 · Q1 in Surgery

Background

Inguinal hernia repair (inguinal hernia repair) is among the most commonly performed surgical procedures worldwide.

Purpose

This study evaluates the comparative impact of cannabis use, cigarette smoking, and vaping, as well as surgical approach (open versus laparoscopic), on postoperative outcomes following inguinal hernia repair.

Methods

Were matched 1:1 using propensity score matching separately within each surgical approach stratum.

Results

RR 1.97

smoking nearly doubled wound complication risk after laparoscopic repair

More results

After 1:1 propensity score matching, baseline characteristics were well-balanced across all cohorts.

Surgical site infection was not significantly elevated in any exposure group.

Cannabis use and vaping demonstrated no statistically significant increase in surgical site infection or wound complications.

More results

Compared to open repair, laparoscopic repair was associated with lower rates of surgical site infection (RR 0.46; p = 0.0011) and wound complication (RR = 0.61; p = 0.0017) in smokers.

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Conclusion · 1 of 3

These findings suggest that inhalants may pose exposure-specific risks to postoperative inguinal hernia outcomes.

Conclusion · 2 of 3

Among cigarette users, laparoscopic repair was associated with lower rates of surgical site infection and wound complications than open repair, suggesting that operative approach may help mitigate smoking-related early wound risk.

Conclusion · 3 of 3

These findings support preoperative cessation counseling for optimizing post-operative outcomes.

Inhalant exposure and outcomes after inguinal hernia repair: cigarette, cannabis, and vaping effects by surgical approach.

Inhalant exposure and outcomes after inguinal hernia repair: cigarette, cannabis, and vaping effects by surgical approach.

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