All surgical procedures have risks, but the risk for serious complications depends on your medical condition and age, as well as on your surgeon’s and anesthesiologist’s experience. Ask your doctor or surgeon about what to expect after surgery as well as the risks that may occur with any surgery, including:^1,3,4

• Reactions to medications or anesthesia
• Breathing problems
• Bleeding
• Infection
• Injury to blood vessels
• Injury to internal organs
• Blood clots in the veins or lungs
• Death (rare)
• If your surgeon uses a special mesh, or screen, to help repair your hernia, an added potential complication can be infection in the mesh. If this happens, the mesh may need to be removed or replaced.
• For patients undergoing surgical repair on a hernia that has reoccurred, there is a greater chance that the hernia will reoccur again.

Additionally, conventional surgery for Ventral Hernia Repair has a greater potential for:

• Muscle injury
• Recurrence of the hernia

For some patients, MIP is not an appropriate choice.  Your surgeon will help you determine the best choice for you and will consider factors such as:

• Obesity
• History of prior abdominal surgery causing dense scar tissue
• Inability to safely visualize organs
• Bleeding problems during the operation
• Underlying medical conditions

The decision to perform MIP or conventional surgery should be made during a discussion with your surgeon. Sometimes a procedure can start out as MIP, but may have to be converted to conventional surgery based on the factors listed above.

Some studies have shown that older patients had more conversions to conventional surgery for a variety of underlying medical reasons.

Only your doctor can decide if MIP for ventral hernia repair is right for you.  Find out which questions to ask your doctor.