Stress adapted embroidered meshes with a graded pattern design for abdominal wall hernia repair

Abstract

Abdominal wall hernias are one of the most relevant injuries of the digestive system with 25 million patients in 2013. Surgery is recommended primarily using allogenic non-absorbable wrap-knitted meshes. These meshes have in common that their stress-strain behaviour is not adapted to the anisotropic behaviour of native abdominal wall tissue. The ideal mesh should possess an adequate mechanical behaviour and a suitable porosity at the same time. An alternative fabrication method to wrap-knitting is the embroidery technology with a high flexibility in pattern design and adaption of mechanical properties. In this study, a pattern generator was created for pattern designs consisting of a base and a reinforcement pattern. The embroidered mesh structures demonstrated different structural and mechanical characteristics. Additionally, the investigation of the mechanical properties exhibited an anisotropic mechanical behaviour for the embroidered meshes. As a result, the investigated pattern generator and the embroidery technology allow the production of stress adapted mesh structures that are a promising approach for hernia reconstruction.