∗Department of Abdominal Surgery, University Hospital Gasthuisberg, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
†Institut für Forschung in der Operativen Medizin (IFOM), Witten/Herdecke University, Cologne, Germany
‡Day-care Surgery Department at Cancer Centre, University Hospital Sestre Milosrdnice, Zagreb, Croatia
§Department for Visceral Surgery, Vascular Surgery and Transplantation, Cologne Merheim Medical Center, Cologne, Germany
¶Department of Surgical Research and Techniques, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
||Department of General Surgery, ULSS5 Polesana del Veneto, Adria, (RO), Italy
∗∗Department of Surgery, Haga Hospital, The Hague, The Netherlands
††2nd Department of Radiology, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
‡‡Clínica de Santo António - Lusíadas, Amadora, Portugal
§§General Laparoscopic and Robotic Surgery, AORN dei Colli Monaldi Hospital, Naples, Italy
¶¶Emergency Surgery Department, Parma University Hospital, Parma, Italy
||||Department of General and Visceral Surgery, Evangelisches Klinikum Koeln Weyertal, Cologne, Germany
∗∗∗Department of Surgery, University Doz. Krankenhaus der Elisabethinen GmbH, Graz, Austria
†††Leitender Oberarzt Facharzt für Chirurgie und Viszeralchirurgie Chirurgische Klinik, Offenbach am Main, Germany
‡‡‡General and Abdominal Surgery, AZ Delta Campus Wilgenstraat, Roeselare, Belgium
§§§Clinic of General, Visceral and Thoracic Surgery, Asklepios Südpfalzklinik Kandel, Kandel, Germany
¶¶¶Department of General Surgery, Clinic Gummersbach, Academic Hospital, University of Cologne, Gummersbach, Germany
||||||Department of Surgical Gastroenterology, University Hospital Hvidovre, Hvidovre, Denmark
∗∗∗∗Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane, Neuruppin, Germany.
[email protected].
This study was planned, conducted, and analyzed under the auspices of the European Hernia Society (EHS). This study was supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Cook Medical, Inc. (Bloomington, IN, USA). Meshes were provided free of charge by Cook Medical, Inc. (Bloomington, IN, USA), C.R. Bard, Inc. (Murray Hill, NJ, USA) and W.L. Gore & Associates (Newark, DE, USA). The KKSK (Coordinating Center for Clinical Trials Cologne, Germany) was responsible for randomization and data management (Protocol-Number: KKSK-4711).
MM, MH, WHS, GR, FW report personal fees from IFOM, during the conduct of the study (reimbursement of travel expenses during the conduct of the study; administrative fee per patient included and final follow-up accomplished). RL, TM, DS, EN report grants from Cook Medical, Inc., Bloomington, IN, USA, to the IFOM (Witten/Herdecke University), during the conduct of the study. FF, SS, DK, GW, FA, MS, RR, DC, FC, CR, FS, BS, SS, and LN have nothing to disclose.
This investigator-initiated trial was supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Cook Medical Inc. (Bloomington, IN, USA). Meshes were provided free of charge by Cook Medical, Inc. (Bloomington, IN, USA), C.R. Bard, Inc. (Murray Hill, NJ, USA), and W. L. Gore & Associates Inc. (Newark, DE, USA). The supporting companies approved the study protocol, but had no role in the design of the trial, the data collection, the analysis and interpretation, nor the writing of the report.
The authors report no conflicts of interest.
