Abdominal wall hernias

Abdominal wall hernia repair is one the most common groups of major operations in acute care surgery, with more than a million hernia repairs performed annually in the United States alone [1]. The latest understanding of hernia epidemiology in the United States comes from studies performed in 1996 by the National Center for Health Statistics [2]. Abdominal wall hernias can be classified broadly into two groups: ventral hernias (including flank and lumbar) and groin hernias. The most common abdominal hernia operation performed is groin herniorrhaphy, totaling more than 75 % of the abdominal wall hernia repairs. Ventral hernia repairs comprise the remaining 25 % [1].