Hernia repair in sublay technique is widely accepted for ventral hernias, as it appears to be advantageous in terms of complication and recurrence rates. Recently, self-gripping meshes are increasingly used for hernia repair with retromuscular mesh positioning. However, real-life data on the safe use in that specific indication are still lacking. Therefore, this study evaluated short-term postoperative outcome of self-gripping versus conventional non-self-gripping meshes in sublay hernia repair.

Inclusion Criteria:

• ventral hernia repair in sublay technique

Exclusion Criteria:

• ventral hernia repair in other technique

A retrospective single-centre cohort study was performed for the time period of January 2011 to July 2018. All patients, receiving a ventral hernia repair (including incisional, umbilical or epigastric hernias) in Rives-Stoppa retromuscular mesh placement technique (sublay), were included into the final analysis.