Repair of large midline abdominal-wall hernias by a running strip of abdominal skin.

Our experience with a full-thickness running strip of abdominal skin for the treatment of large midline abdominal hernias has been very positive. The mechanical properties of the skin strip allow one to reestablish a normal anatomy by bringing the rectus muscle in contact. Clinical and histologic studies have shown that the full-thickness skin rapidly loses its epidermal components and appears to transform itself into a dense connective tissue very similar to normal aponeurosis.