What should a patient with an incisional hernia be aware of before having surgery? An incisional hernia itself is a mass in the area where the previous surgery was done. These are patients who have had a previous surgery, and as long as they have had laparotomy, the abdominal cavity is not the same as it was originally, the organs will be adherent, and reoperation is more difficult and risky. We need to be even more careful when we reopen the area where the original surgery was done. In particular, most incisional hernia patients are elderly and may have other problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, lung disease, etc. It is important to wait until the patient’s condition is relatively stable in all areas before operating. For patients with giant incisional hernia, some of them are quite fat, they will be advised to do proper functional exercises to control their weight. In addition to this, patients with giant incisional hernias will also be advised to wear a lap band for a period of time before surgery, with the aim of adapting in advance to the situation where the organs that have been drilled out are brought back into the abdominal cavity. Because the surgery is to put the bulging out organs back into the abdominal cavity, the sudden increase in the number of organs inside the abdominal cavity will lead to an increase in pressure, squeezing the diaphragm upward (the diaphragm is the middle separation between the abdominal cavity and the thoracic cavity, and on top of the diaphragm are the heart and the lungs), which affects the function of the heart and the lungs. Therefore, these patients may have to do some functional exercises before surgery, including wearing a lap band, etc., to slowly adapt to the increased pressure in the abdominal cavity. Can I have surgery if there is an infection in the wound? Many people develop an incisional hernia just because the incision becomes infected after surgery, resulting in poor healing of the abdominal wall. Statistics show that 50% of all incisional hernias are due to wound infections. Can a patient have surgery if the wound is still infected? Generally speaking, it is recommended to wait until the wound is completely healed and free of redness, swelling, running water and pus for at least six months or a year before having incisional hernia surgery. How long should I rest after surgery? What should I pay attention to? Generally speaking, if the incisional hernia is repaired with a patch, it is necessary to wear a lap-band for 3 to 6 months after the surgery, because it takes more than 3 months for the patch to grow and firm up with the surrounding abdominal wall tissues. Wearing a lap band reduces edema and fluid retention caused by the surgery, and allows the patch and the abdominal wall tissue to fit together better. In addition, in the first three months after surgery, the patch has not yet grown solid with the abdominal wall, so strenuous activities should be avoided, but walking, walking around, going up and down the stairs and other daily activities are not restricted. In addition, patients should control their weight, because obesity is also an important cause of incisional hernia occurrence and recurrence. We do not force patients, especially middle-aged and elderly patients, to lose weight after surgery, but they must control their weight, at least they should not gain weight. Because after getting fat, the “hole” in the abdominal wall will also become larger, but the patch will not grow, and will also be wrinkled. It is important for the patient to keep his or her weight under control to ensure that the patch is large enough to cover all of the hole. What is the approximate cost of incisional hernia surgery? If a patch is used, how much does it usually cost? Is it reimbursed by my health insurance? Currently, incisional hernias are mainly treated in minimally invasive laparoscopic procedures in specialized departments that treat hernias, such as the Department of Hernia and Abdominal Wall Surgery at Chaoyang Hospital. In this kind of surgery, the patch has to be placed inside the abdominal cavity, so the patch will touch the intestines and other organs, but it can’t have adhesion with the intestines, or affect other organs so that they will have adhesion, so the material of the patch has the effect of preventing adhesion. Therefore, this kind of patch is generally more expensive, the smallest size of the patch is almost more than 10,000 dollars, a large model will be expensive nearly 10,000 dollars. General patch than the abdominal wall of the “hole” larger than a circle, probably more than the “hole” edge of the 3 to 5 centimeters, so as to ensure that it is thoroughly plugged, patch more solid. Currently, this type of patch is not reimbursed by the health insurance. How long will I be hospitalized after incisional hernia surgery? As long as the operation is into the inside of the abdominal cavity, the recovery of intestinal function has to be observed after the operation, and the patient will not be discharged from the hospital until he/she has passed gas and defecation before he/she can start drinking and eating. Generally, the patient will start drinking water first, and gradually transition to eating thin rice, and then to eating normally. Nowadays, laparoscopic minimally invasive surgery is used, there is no big incision, and there is no need to change medicine and remove stitches, so the hospitalization time is much shorter. If things go well, you are usually hospitalized for 3 to 7 days after surgery. If there are complications after the huge incisional hernia surgery, you may be hospitalized for observation for a longer period of time. Generally, from hospitalization to discharge is around one week to ten days. Of course, each patient’s situation is not quite the same, and it is important to analyze each case on a case-by-case basis.