Hernias a common. They can occur from a defect at birth or can be from a previous surgery. The goal when repairing hernias is to restore the abdominal wall to its normal state of anatomy. Often, this coincides with normal muscle function.
Hernias that protrude through the rectus muscle are often best repaired by separating the components of the rectus sheath. The posterior sheath, the rectus muscle and the anterior sheath are repaired separately.
It is often helpful to reinforce the repair with a retro-rectus placement of an acellular dermal matrix.
Abdominal binders need to be worn for 6 weeks. After the 6 weeks, patient will begin physical therapy for isometric core strengthening.
