Scaffolds for abdominal wall reconstruction

Abstract The abdominal wall is a layer of skeletal muscles, which protects the vital organs and provides mechanical support to the viscera. Any defect in the abdominal wall, in the form of tear or rupture occurred either due to trauma or congenital defect, may lead to the development of a hernia. A hernia represents protrusion of an organ or tissue through an acquired or natural opening in the abdominal wall like inguinal canal. Revolutionary advances have been developed in the past 20 years with respect to abdominal wall reconstruction (AWR). Innovative surgical approaches and contemporary synthetic and biological prosthetics have been an integral part of the surgical arsenal. Patients with complex abdominal wall defects must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis; interventions can vary from simple coverage and contouring to reconstruction of a dynamic functional abdominal wall. There is a substantial recurrence rate after ventral herniorrhaphy and a higher incidence of surgical-site occurrences (seroma, hematoma formation) and surgical-site infections. Although there is not a successful “one-size-fits-all” approach to AWR, there are treatment modalities, which significantly improve these outcomes. In this regard, selecting the appropriate synthetic or biologic scaffolds for a given clinical scenario is of great interest.