Surgeon stitching a hernia mesh into the abdominal wall of a 50-year-old male patient during an incisional hernia repair operation. A hernia is the protrusion of an organ or tissue through an abnormal opening. An incisional hernia occurs at the site of a previous surgical incision. In this case the bowel is protruding through the abdominal wall. Hernias are repaired surgically. The protruding bowel is pushed back through the opening in the abdominal wall, and the opening is sealed with mesh. The incision is then sealed using stitches.