Patients
strangulated hernia, hernia
Patients were screened preoperatively at the outpatient clinic of the Department of visceral surgery, Lausanne University Hospital CHUV. Inclusion criteria were patients between 20 and 80 years old requiring an elective open incisional hernia repair with a physical status classification according to the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) between 1 and 3. Exclusion criteria were a hernia defect of less than 2 cm, inguinal hernia, ongoing antibiotic treatment before admission, and emergency surgery for an incarcerated or strangulated hernia. In addition, we excluded laparoscopic hernia procedures and patients under immunosuppressive therapy.All included patients completed an informed consent form validated by the local ethics committee.