Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the performance and application prospects of hernia patch materials, and to look for a reasonable hernia repair material.
METHODS: Wanfang database (http://www.wanfangdata.com.cn/) from January 1999 to December 2009 was retrieved on computer for articles related with the biomaterials used in hernia repair, using keywords of “tissue engineering, abdominal hernia, biomaterials” in Chinese. The repeated study, general review or Meta analysis were excluded, totally 25 articles were involved in evaluation.
RESULTS: The traditional non-degradable biomaterials are only be used as hernia filling materials, with the development of medicine and tissue engineered techniques, various synthetic biomaterials have emerged. Currently used hernia repair materials include non-absorbing materials such as polypropylene, and absorbable material, such as polyglycolic acid mesh and composite materials. Through the stimulation between the organism and the patch, these materials produce different reactions, alternative repair materials may occur in future, that is to repair various wounds according to different materials. It is one of hot spots in research of biomedical engineering that to use autologous cells and dermal materials to complete hernia repair.
CONCLUSION: Although polypropylene and polyglycolic acid mesh are commonly applied in clinical practice for hernia repair, hernia repair materials need further development because of their inevitable shortcomings.