How to choose an incisional hernia patch?

  Incisional hernia is a common disease, and without timely repair, incisional hernia gets heavier and heavier. Suture repair of simple incisional hernia is the most common method, but it is often ineffective, and often two or three repairs still fail, while repairing incisional hernia with patch can greatly reduce the recurrence of incisional hernia, especially if an experienced hernia surgeon is asked to repair it and choose a suitable patch. Therefore, the selection of an incisional hernia patch is particularly important.  Incisional hernia patches are divided into two main categories: synthetic patches and biological patches.  Polypropylene patches, which are synthetic patches, can only be used for extracavitary repair and cannot be placed in the abdominal cavity.  Polypropylene composite patches, which are also synthetic patches, are polypropylene patches with PTFE anti-adhesive patches that can be used for intra-abdominal incisional hernia repair, but they are more expensive.  There are also a variety of polypropylene patches with anti-adhesive coating, and there are more types of such patches, each with its own characteristics and advantages and disadvantages, which can also be used for intra-abdominal incisional hernia repair and are also more expensive.  However, these two types of patches will remain as foreign bodies for a long time, without complications of course, and the life span of these materials is much longer than the limit of human life.  Biological patches are made of animal or human skin specially treated to remove foreign antigens, so they do not produce rejection reactions. These patches can be used for both intra-abdominal and extra-abdominal abdominal wall repairs, and the biological patches will gradually absorb over time with satisfactory results in the near future.  The last three types of patches can be used for intra-abdominal incisional hernia repair, and most of these patches are imported materials. The combination of anti-adhesion patches and laparoscopic techniques allows for minimally invasive incisional hernia repair surgery with significantly better repair results than simple repair and extra-abdominal patch repair.