The Nature of the Device: A hernia consists of an organ’s protruding through the organ wall, and the usual sign of it is a painful lump in the abdomen or groin. The Bard Kugel mesh hernia patch is intended to repair ventral hernias, which are often caused by thin or stretched scar tissue that forms after surgery, and that can give way under pressure. C. R. Bard, Inc. marketed its product as the first self-expanding patch for both sides of a ventral hernia. The device has a “memory recoil ring” that is folded, inserted through an abdominal incision, and then made to unfold inside the patient’s body.
