Incisional Hernia Prevention: Risk-benefit From a Patient's Perspective

Incisional Hernia (IH) is a common complication of abdominal surgery and causes serious morbidity to patients. IH formation is multifactorial and its risk varies from patient to patient. Risk-predictive tools have been developed to identify patients at high risk of IH before their initial operation, with high-risk patients possibly being offered the use of prophylactic mesh, placed at the end of the operation to prevent IH from forming. With controversy surrounding the use of mesh in other types of surgery, however, it is not known if mesh use is acceptable to patients. This study aims to assess how patients feel about prophylactic mesh and whether it is acceptable to them.