Mechanical response of the herniated human abdomen to the placement of different prostheses

J Biomech Eng. 2013 May;135(5):51004. doi: 10.1115/1.4023703.

Abstract

This paper describes a method designed to model the repaired herniated human abdomen just after surgery and examine its static mechanical response to the maximum intra-abdominal pressure provoked by a physiological movement (standing cough). The model is based on the real geometry of the human abdomen bearing a large incisional hernia with several anatomical structures differentiated by MRI. To analyze the outcome of hernia repair, the surgical procedure was simulated by modeling a prosthesis placed over the hernia. Three surgical meshes with different mechanical properties were considered: an isotropic heavy-weight mesh (Surgipro®), a slightly anisotropic light-weight mesh (Optilene®), and a highly anisotropic medium-weight mesh (Infinit®). Our findings confirm that anisotropic implants need to be positioned such that the most compliant axis of the mesh coincides with the craneo-caudal direction of the body.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anisotropy
  • Biomechanical Phenomena
  • Finite Element Analysis*
  • Hernia, Abdominal* / surgery
  • Humans
  • Mechanical Phenomena*
  • Prostheses and Implants*
  • Stress, Mechanical