Topic: The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Abdominal Wall Surgery

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is driving significant changes across many scientific and medical disciplines. In the field of abdominal wall surgery, encompassing procedures such as hernia repair, component separation, and abdominal wall reconstruction, AI models trained on procedural data, including surgical videos, have the potential to substantially enhance clinical practice and patient outcomes. The benefits of AI in minimally invasive and robotic procedures are extensive, including improvements in procedure planning, standardization, surgery quality assurance, injury prevention, and enhanced image guidance and visualization of critical structures. Moreover, AI may profoundly transform surgical education, training and skill assessment, especially through the use of surgical video analysis with computer vision.

While many of these applications are in development and not yet widely implemented in clinical practice, significant progress is being made through research in both clinical and computer science fields. This Special Issue, "The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Abdominal Wall Surgery", presents a series of original review articles and research studies, revealing state-of-the-art advancements, insights, and future prospects for AI in abdominal wall surgery.

1 Mar 2025