The use of prostheses and traditional technics in the surgical treatment of laparocele. An experimental study

The problem of surgical fixing for incisional hernia is still far from a final solution. Over the past few years, prostheses have been used in addition to traditional plastic surgery. The aim of this experimental study was to assess the efficacy of traditional techniques in comparison to modern methods using prostheses. For this purpose, two original experimental models were designed to assess parietal resistance. Ninety-six Wistar rats were subdivided into 4 group: 1) control; 2) "waistcoat" plastic surgery; 3) plastic surgery using a vicryl prosthesis. With the exception of rats in group 1, a lozenge-shaped section of abdominal wall was removed from all other rats and, subsequently, the wall was repaired using the above-mentioned methods. Rats were killed after 30-60-120-180 days and the abdominal walls were subjected to traction and pressure using specially designed experimental models. For the first 30 days, the walls with dacron and vicryl prostheses behaved in a similar way, and showed a greater resistance than the other two groups; but after day 120, the resistance of dacron prostheses was considerably greater than that of the other groups studied. In conclusion, plastic surgery based on the use of nonreabsorbable prostheses is now more efficacious than traditional plastic surgery in the surgical treatment of incision hernia.