A biological approach to prevention and treatment of incisional hernias

Abstract

Introduction: Despite improvement in abdominal wall closure, 200,000 incisional hernia repairs are performed in the U.S. each year. In fact, the greatest risk factor for incisional hernia formation is a previous incisional hernia. A biological intervention at the host:wound level designed to optimize fascial healing may prevent and/or treat incisional hernias. To date, systematic studies have been difficult due to lack of a reproducible animal model.