On reading all the comment on your board,and on other's. Is their a true statement, of people"s bodies rejecting mesh, or is it just the way surgeons place it in the body, and stitch or tack it in place on the first Ventral Hernia with entrapment repair.I have talked to several general surgeon and asked all these questions, for the fear of having problems of the mesh. One said their is no such thing as mesh rejection. He also said that the prior surgeon never should of used the tension technique.He said if he had done his pre op testing right, that he should of deteced infection in the body and had treated me for it prior to the surgery. So I need another opinion, also how large of a ventral hernia should mesh be used the first time? Is their certain testing that surgeons should do or had done on the first surgeries that could of prevented the problems people are having with the mesh?? If a person has a latex or rubber or other petroleum based products, should mesh not be used? Tired and confused. Thanks

You have asked many questions the answers for each are quite detailed. Here are some statements that may help you understand abit more.
1. "Rejection" in a true medical/scientific sense is an imune reaction of the body to foreign protein. Mesh is a synthetic plastic and not protein, and therefore does not undergo rejection. If placed in a contaminated field, or contaminated by bacterian during or after insertion, it can become infected.Too often surgeons erroneously tell patients this is rejection (perhaps in an attempt to inappropriately shift the blame to the patient. e.g., "...your body is rejecting the mesh") Often there is no blame, but rather an unfortunate outcome, one of the many risks to surgery. But infection is NOT rejection.
2. We feel that most if not all hernias of the abdominal wall are best treated by placement of a sterile mesh, without tension placed on the muscle-fascial layer.
3. For ventral/incisional hernias, mesh should be placed behind the muscle-fascial layer of the abdominal wall and extend in all direction (360) a minimum of 5 cm beyond the edge of all defective or thinned and devitalized tissue.