Introducing the Proceed™ Ventral Patch as a New Device in Surgical
Management of Umbilical and Small Ventral Hernias: Preliminary Results
Tim Tollens, M.D.
Consultant, General Surgery
David Struyve, M.D.
Registrar, General Surgery
Chris Aelvoet, M.D.
Consultant, General Surgery
Jean Pierre Vanrijkel, M.D.
Head of Department, General Surgery
Imelda Hospital
Bonheiden, Belgium
Surgical treatment of umbilical and small ventral hernias ranges from a simple suture repair to the placement of large intra-abdominal or retromuscular meshes. Several articles report a lower incidence of recurrence after mesh repair, whether this is positioned onlay, retromuscular, or intraperitoneally. Often, a simple suture repair fails in the longterm, whereas a laparoscopic or retromomuscular approach seems too extensive for these rather small hernias. In between those two treatment options exists a go-between repair that carries the idea of posterior repair without being so aggressive in its approach. In this study, the authors examined a new device called the Proceed™ Ventral Patch (PVP) (Ethicon, Inc., Sommerville, NJ, USA). It is a self-expanding, partially absorbable, flexible laminate mesh device that allows an easy, quick and minimal invasive, tension-free, and standarized approach to umbilical hernia treatment. No data nor publication exist on this new device. Reported herein is our early and first experience with this novel technique.