Bridging with reduced overlap: fixation and peritoneal grip can prevent slippage of DIS class A meshes.

PURPOSE: Ventral hernia repair can be performed safely using meshes which are primarily stable upon dynamic intermittent straining (DIS) at recommended overlap. In specific clinical situations, e.g., at bony edges, bridging of the hernial orifice with reduced overlap might be necessary. To gain insight into the durability of various applications, two different meshes with the best tissue grip known so far were assessed.

METHODS: The model uses dynamic intermittent strain and comprises the repetition of submaximal impacts delivered via a hydraulically driven plastic containment. Pig tissue simulates a ventral hernia with a standardized 5 cm defect. Commercially available meshes classified as primarily stable at recommended overlap were used to bridge this defect at recommended and reduced overlap.

RESULTS: Using Parietex Progrip® , the peritoneum adds sufficient stability at least to a 2.5 cm overlap. Using Dynamesh Cicat® , four gluing spots with Glubran® are sufficient to stabilize a 3.75 cm overlap. A 2.5 cm overlap is stabilized with eight bonding spots Glubran® and 8 bonding spots combined with four sutures stabilize a 1.25 cm overlap. Here again, an intact peritoneum stabilizes the reconstruction significantly.

CONCLUSIONS: Based on a pig tissue model, a total of 23 different conditions were tested. A DIS class A mesh can be easily stabilized bridging a 5 cm hernial orifice with reduced overlap. Caution must be exerted to extend these results to other DIS classes and larger hernial orifices. Further DIS investigations can improve the durability of hernia repair.