The sagitta in 3D reconstruction of linea alba on routine CT scans is predictive of postoperative burst abdomen.

Purpose: Burst abdomen (BA) is a relevant complication after abdominal surgery that causes additional surgical procedures, prolonged hospital stays and long-term morbidity. Several underlying risk factors exist and have been characterized previously. Those risk factors consist of surgical and medical factors. Recently, CT-derived body composition is of rising interest and 3D reconstruction of the linea alba has been studied. The clinical significance of those parameters is not clear. We therefore performed an analysis of linea alba 3D reconstruction measurements and their prognostic significance on the development of BA.

Methods: An institutional data base of patients with post operative wound infections was assembled. The subgroup of patients with BA was compared to controls. If the patients had complete preoperative abdominal CT scans, their images were further analyzed and 3D reconstruction of the linea alba was performed. Subsequently, lineal alba was measured at predetermined positions. Those values were evaluated as risk factors for postoperative BA.

Results: A total of 72 patients with BA and 32 controls were eligible for the analysis. We found body mass index-related significant differences as well as sex related differences in linea alba width. Furthermore, BA patients had a significantly wider linea alba and longer sagitta compared to controls. In the multivariate analysis of linea alba measurements and clinical parameters, the length of the sagitta was significantly associated with the risk of BA (OR 1.266; 95% CI 1.011-1.585; p = 0.04).

Conclusion: In this study of 3D reconstruction of the linea alba from routine CT scans, we could show that a longer sagitta was associated with an increased risk of postoperative BA.