EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF LONG-TERM MECHANICAL RESPONSE OF SURGICAL MESHES

The repair of the abdominal wall defects with surgical meshes is a universally procedure worldwide. This paper aims to investigate the influence of aging on the mechanical properties of three types of meshes made of polypropylene, like basic material and different additional materials. Quasistatic tensile test was performed on samples of baseline meshes and simulated aging samples. Our results showed that all basic meshes were orthotropic and presented different mechanical behaviour. It is not possible to conclude that one of the meshes has better properties than the others. The main observation was that when the meshes were exposed to aging, all investigated mechanical parameters decreased or increased in both directions according to different compositions and architectures of meshes. The changes in mechanical properties over time necessitate the creation of a guide for surgeons including results obtained after mechanical experiments. They can use it to choose the proper mesh according to type of hernia, age and condition of the patient.