Contamination of hybrid hernia meshes compared to bioresorbable Phasix™ Mesh in a rabbit subcutaneous implant inoculation model.

Abstract Background Hybrid hernia meshes combine biological tissue-derived extracellular matrix with permanent or resorbable synthetic. The objective of this study was to evaluate hybrid meshes (Gore® Synecor, Zenapro™, Ovitex™ 1S Reinforced Bioscaffold Permanent, and Ovitex™ 1S Reinforced Bioscaffold Resorbable) compared to non-hybrid, bioresorbable synthetic mesh (Phasix™ Mesh) in a rabbit bacterial inoculation model. Materials and Methods Subcutaneous pockets were bilaterally created in male, New Zealand White rabbits (n=25). Circular meshes (3.8 cm diameter) were implanted and inoculated with 1x106 colony forming units (CFU) of clinically-isolated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). A given animal received a single mesh type. Seven days post-inoculation, animals were euthanized and white material and microbial colonization were assessed by abscess scoring and CFU quantification, respectively. Non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis with Dunn’s post-hoc tests compared results for different meshes. Results PhasixTM Mesh and Synecor exhibited significantly lower abscess scores than ZenaproTM, Ovitex™ 1S Permanent, and Ovitex™ 1S Resorbable (p Conclusion PhasixTM Mesh demonstrated no detectable abscess or microbial colonization at 7-days post-implantation and inoculation, in contrast with four hybrid meshes, which all demonstrated colonization in a rabbit bacterial inoculation model.