Surgery is the only effective treatment for incisional hernia of the abdominal wall

  It is one of the common complications after abdominal surgery, with an incidence of 2% to 11%. It mainly presents as a hernia block protruding from the incision when standing, and is more obvious when coughing or exerting. Usually the hernia ring is large and the hernia mass disappears on its own after lying down. If the hernia mass is large with more organs and tissues protruding, there may be discomfort such as hidden abdominal pain and pulling down. Due to the wide hernia ring, inversion or strangulation rarely occurs.  Incisional infection is the most important cause of incisional hernia. After infection, the incision heals in the second stage, there is much scar tissue, the abdominal wall has different degrees of defects, and the strength of the abdominal wall at the incision site is significantly reduced. According to statistics, the incidence of incisional hernia after incisional infection is 5 to 10 times higher than that of phase I healed incision. Prevention of incisional infection is the most important measure to reduce the incidence of incisional hernia. Incisional hernias are mostly seen in straight incisions.  All layers of the abdominal wall muscles (except the fibers of the rectus abdominis muscle, which run longitudinally), fibers of the tendon and fascia, and nerves run transversely, and a straight incision is bound to sever all these layers. In addition, the straight incision after suturing is always under the tension of transverse traction. If the abdominal wall is weak and the intra-abdominal pressure is high, the incision is prone to splitting. Obviously, the incidence of incisional hernia is much lower in transverse incisions than in straight incisions, and the transverse tension of the layers of abdominal wall tissue facilitates the alignment of the transverse incision. Other factors related to the original surgery are poor intraoperative anesthesia, forced alignment of the abdominal wall or inaccurate alignment of the layers of abdominal wall tissue during suturing.  Incisional hernia not only causes great pain and affects the life and work of the patient, but also makes surgical treatment difficult. Incisional hernias do not heal on their own, and they can expand and cause cardiopulmonary dysfunction. Prompt surgical repair is the only effective treatment. Patch repair for incisional hernia of the abdominal wall has been recognized to be effective.