This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (Intervention). The objectives are as follows:

The primary objective of this review is to determine both the efficacy and safety of using primary mesh augmentation of abdominal incisions as a prophylaxis for incisional hernia. The secondary objective of this review is to determine whether the efficacy and safety of using primary mesh augmentation differs across prespecified subgroups (see Subgroup analysis and investigation of heterogeneity).