Background: When repairing an abdominal wall defect, sometimes a prosthetic mesh needs to be placed directly on the parietal peritoneum. Although the standard mesh for this purpose is the laminar implant expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), it is gradually being replaced by the laminar collagen-based meshes. This study was designed to assess the intraperitoneal behavior of three of these biomeshes, mainly in terms of their susceptibility to adhesion formation.
Methods: Two 3-cm × 3-cm fragments of prosthetic material were placed on the parietal peritoneum in male New Zealand White rabbits in the following combinations: PTFE and CollaMend(®), PTFE and Permacol(®), or PTFE and Surgisis(®). The meshes were fixed at the four corners with individual 4/0 polypropylene sutures. Adhesion formation was quantified by sequential laparoscopy and image analysis performed at 3, 7, 14, and 90 days postimplant. All animals were killed at 90 days and the mesh specimens were subjected to microscopy and immunohistochemistry.
Results: Intensely vascularized adhesions to all the implants were observed, although Surgisis showed the lowest percentage of adhesions at each follow-up time. Adhesions had stabilized by 7-14 days. The PTFE meshes were enveloped by a layer of macrophages and connective tissue, bounded by a monolayer of mesothelial cells. Permacol and CollaMend showed similar histological behavior, including cell ingrowth through their fenestrations with no signs of degradation detected at 90 days. In contrast, the Surgisis mesh at 90 days was practically replaced with neoformed tissue.
Conclusions: No difference in susceptibility to adhesion formation was noted in the crosslinked collagen meshes compared to PTFE meshes. The noncrosslinked collagen mesh Surgisis showed the best behavior in that it induced fewer adhesions. Ninety days after implant, a more intense macrophage response was observed in CollaMend and Permacol than in PTFE or Surgisis.