Patent ID: 8343231

Claim:
A surgical mesh for laparoscopically repairing a hernia defect in a patient's abdominal wall, the mesh comprising: a sheet of a mesh material suitable for attaching to the peritoneal surface of the patient's abdominal wall and having an extent greater than the size of a hernia defect to be repaired; a stiffening ridge extending along a surface of the sheet for assisting laparoscopic placement of the sheet after the sheet has been inserted inside the patient's abdomen; and a fixation fin having a proximal edge attached to the stiffening ridge and extending along the sheet for a distance less than the extent thereof and a distal edge raised above the surface of the sheet a sufficient distance to permit attachment of the fixation fin to an edge of a hernia defect when the sheet is in place inside the patient's abdomen with the sheet surface facing the peritoneal surface of the patient's abdominal wall, wherein the fixation fin is located on the sheet with opposing ends of the fixation fin spaced a predetermined distance from corresponding edges of the sheet for providing an excess area surrounding the proximal edge of the fixation fin in all directions a sufficient distance to allow attachment of the sheet to the peritoneal surface of the patient's abdominal wall at any desired location on the sheet when the fixation fin is in place for attachment to the edge of the hernia defect, and the stiffening ridge extends along the sheet in two directions beyond the proximal edge of the fixation fin a sufficient distance to assist in laparoscopic placement of the sheet after the sheet has been inserted inside the patient's abdomen.