Elements that shape our biological existence and define our presence on this planet.
We invite you once again to Gdańsk for the next edition of Baltic Hernia Days—an international forum for the exchange of ideas, opinions, and surgical concepts in the treatment of hernias and, more broadly, abdominal wall pathologies.

The previous edition guided us through surgical techniques, approaches, materials, and instruments. We began with the simplest tools and concluded with the dawn of robotic surgery. We discussed meshes, indications, and the diverse clinical courses our patients may experience.

We are well aware that hernia surgery has many dimensions, yet its true progress is not measured in years, but in decades—and in breakthroughs usually achieved by a handful of pioneering centers. That is why we left you for two years. And yet, even now, surgery has not advanced so dramatically as to fill another conference program on its own.
So this time, we evolve in a different direction.
We return to the roots of medicine, where understanding is the foundation of therapy. Where etiology matters more than the symptom. Where distant connections align into a coherent whole.

To understand, not to believe.

This year’s motto is an invitation—to look beyond the “what” of surgery and reach for the “why.” Because once we understand why, the what becomes simple.
We will explore the origins of phenomena, the physical nature of tissues, and the hidden properties of synthetic materials. We will reveal a puzzle in which every piece fits effortlessly once the logic behind it is understood.

Perhaps for the last time.

For the coming era of artificial intelligence may once again compel us to believe—when the processes behind the algorithms become beyond our understanding.
Join us for the last supper of understanding.

Warm regards,

Maciej Smietanski
Mateusz Zamkowski

Presidents of the Baltic Hernia Days 2026