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Editorial | Open Access

Artificial Intelligence Surgery

Collins et al. Art Int Surg. 2026;6:416-9 DOI:10.20517/ais.2026.78

Artificial intelligence in hernia surgery: an emerging
revolution

Toby Collins 1 , Jacques Marescaux 2

Citation: Collins T, SUMMARY OF SPECIAL ISSUE
Marescaux J. Artificial
intelligence in hernia We are pleased to introduce the first Artificial Intelligence Surgery Special Issue of
surgery: an emerging 2026, a year that promises continued advances in artificial intelligence and its
revolution. Art Int Surg. integration into surgical practice.
2026;6:416-9.
https://dx.doi.org/10.20517
/ais.2026.78 Artificial intelligence (AI) is beginning to transform every stage of surgical care, and
few surgical specialties are better positioned to benefit than abdominal wall surgery.
Received: 27 Jul 2026
Revised: 18 Aug 2026 High procedural volume, standardized operative workflows, and the routine
Accepted: 20 Aug 2026 availability of laparoscopic and robotic video footage create unique opportunities for
Published: 27 Aug 2026
developing clinically meaningful AI systems. Recent advances in foundation models,
Academic Editor: multimodal learning, and large-scale surgical video analysis have accelerated the
Andrew Gumbs translation of AI from proof-of-concept research into technologies suitable for
Copy Editor:
Tong Wang clinical deployment.
Production Editor:
Tong Wang
This Special Issue, guest edited by Prof. Jacques Marescaux and Dr. Toby Collins of
IRCAD, Strasbourg, brings together six original research and review articles
spanning the surgical pathway - from preoperative planning and intraoperative
guidance to postoperative surveillance, surgical education, and quality assurance.

The contributions in this Special Issue span three complementary themes. First,
several articles examine AI for clinical decision support, patient-specific prediction,
and perioperative planning in abdominal wall surgery, including preoperative
planning, risk stratification, outcome and complication prediction, and applications
in abdominal wall reconstruction . Second, they explore AI for computer-assisted
[1-4]
surgery and operative workflow, encompassing AI-assisted imaging, image-guided
intervention, surgical workflow analysis, real-time phase recognition, anatomical and
instrument recognition, and surgical performance assessment . Third, they address
[2-5]
the responsible and trustworthy translation of AI into clinical practice, including the
use of large language models (LLMs) for adverse-event surveillance using mesh
implant narratives, as well as model interpretability, prediction uncertainty, data
quality, and broader considerations for reliable and scalable clinical deployment [2-4,6] .

1 Surgical Data Science, IRCAD France, Strasbourg 67000, France.
2 IRCAD France, Strasbourg 67000, France.
Correspondence to: Dr. Toby Collins, Surgical Data Science, IRCAD France, Strasbourg 67000, France. E-mail:
toby.collins@ircad.fr; Prof. Jacques Marescaux, IRCAD France, Strasbourg 67000, France. E-mail: jacques.marescaux@ircad.fr

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