Ventral hernias are common following abdominal surgery. Currently, there is no equipoise on when synthetic and biologic meshes should be used. Among open ventral hernia repairs, half are repaired using biologic mesh while half are repaired using synthetic mesh. The investigators hypothesize that biologic mesh as opposed to synthetic mesh repair of open ventral hernia repair is associated with decreased risk of major complications one year after surgery.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patient scheduled for open ventral hernia repair at LBJ General Hospital

Exclusion Criteria:

• Active infection
• Patient unlikely to survive with the next 2 years based upon surgeon judgment (i.e. metastatic cancer, end-stage cirrhosis)
• Patient surgeon would not normally place a prosthetic (e.g. planned second surgery such as ostomy takedown)
• Patient unlikely to follow-up (i.e. no phone)