Evaluation of peritoneal adhesions formation and tissue response to polypropylene - poli (2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)-(polyHEMA) implant on rats' abdominal wall 1 Avaliação da formação de aderências peritoneais e da resposta tecidual ao implante de poli (2-hidroxietil dimetacrilato)-(poliHEMA) na parede abdominal de ratos

Purpose: To verify if the composit poli (2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)-PolyHEMA/polypropylene mesh implanted in the female rat’s abdominal wall could be suitable for the prevention of peritoneal adhesions, and for the evaluation of the tecidual response produced by this biomaterial. Methods: Polypropylene meshes (Group PP, n=20) and polypropylene meshes coated with a layer of poli (2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)-PolyHEMA (Group PH, n=20) were implanted on the abdominal wall of Wistar female rats. Ten animals from each group were submitted to euthanasia at 15 and 30 days of the postoperative period. Results: The animals from the group PP presented visceral adhesions on the mesh surface, which was not observed in the ones from group PH. At the histopathological examination foreign body response was observed in both groups, whilst there was a greater intensity of inflammatory response in group PH on both moments. Conclusion: The poli (2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) polyHEMA hydrogel associated to polypropylene mesh reduces visceral adhesion formation in rats, although it may be associated to greater inflammatory reaction.