A Comparison of Intraperitoneal Prostheses for the Repair of Abdominal Muscular Wall Defects in Rats

We compared the tissue response to the intraperitoneal implantation of three different prostheses (Gore-Tex, Mersilene, Vicryl-Mersilene) used to repair abdominal wall defects in rats. Vicryl-Mersilene is a new experimental prosthesis made of Dacron (Mersilene) coated with absorbable polyglactin (Vicryl). The least amount of adhesions to omentum and gut was found with Mersilene. Gore-Tex was responsible for the accumulation of neutrophils rather than macrophages mostly collected in close contact with Mersilene and Vicryl-Mersilene. Fibrosis, evaluated by histology and computerized morphometry, was mostly found with Vicryl-Mersilene. This should allow a better incorporation of Mersilene and a tighter anchorage to the abdominal wall, after Vicryl resorption.