Abdominal Closure after Emergency Laparotomy (ACE) trial: Comparison of Mass closure and Small bites techniques for closure after emergency laparotomy

Randomised, double blinded trial comparing small bites closure to mass closure with regards to their effect on rates of incisional hernia after emergency laparotomy. Mass closure is the current standard of care, however, small bites closure has been shown to reduce incidence of incisional hernia in elective surgery. Calculated sample size is 148 patients per arm. Primary outcome measure is incidence of incisional hernia post procedure. Secondary outcome measure is incidence of burst abdomen post procedure. Total duration of followup is 2 years from index procedure.