A review of available prosthetic material for abdominal wall repair

Abstract

Abdominal wall incisional and inguinal hernia repair can call for utilization of implants or prostheses as an alternative to simple suture techniques. The various implants can be synthetic, biologic or mixed: their physicochemical properties condition the mechanical results and the long-term outcome of the repair. The increasing number of available materials allows the surgeon to choose between a wide variety depending on the indication, the site of implantation, the surgical approach and whether the operative field is contaminated or not. With regard to evidence-based medicine, while several synthetic implants have been shown to be superior in efficacy to simple suture, other studies are underway to develop the indications for bioprostheses, in particular in contaminated fields. This review of the literature summarizes the current knowledge on synthetic and biologic implants (physicochemical characteristics, forms, indications).

Flap Surgical Techniques For Incisional Hernias Reccurences. A Swine Experimental Model

“…The costs of the various prostheses are established according to a classification based on their constitution and their properties [15]. In terms of recurrences, contaminated abdominal wall defects, patients with infected wounds or systemic infections or other contraindications to the prosthetic materials, alternative repair consists of biological meshes or flap surgery.…”

Surgical mesh for ventral incisional hernia repairs:Understanding mesh design

“…The earlier materials used for these meshes -perlon and nylon -were later abandoned because perlon caused intense inflammatory responses and nylon was shown to degrade in the long-term (21). Currently, nearly all synthetic nondegradable meshes are made from one of three basic materials: polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate polyester or expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) (22). The characteristics of the different types of synthetic nondegradable mesh are presented in Table 2.…”

Regenerative Biomaterials

“…The use of traditional synthetic materials such as polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, and polytetrafluoroethylene has lost favor to the lightweight absorbable or partially absorbable materials that include polyglactin (Vicryl; Ethicon, Inc., Somerville, N.J.) or poliglecaprone. 56 Unfortunately, none of these materials is particularly well-suited for abdominal wall reconstruction when dealing with a contaminated field where its removal is required in 50 to 90 percent of cases. 45 In addition, complications are extensive and include the risk of visceral adhesions, fistula formation, infection, seroma, and skin breakdown.…”