Objective To evaluate the feasibil ity of intrauterine abdominal wall defect repair of fetal lamb at late pregnancy. Methods Eight healthy pregnant ewes at 110-115 days of gestation (weighing 14-22 kg) were randomly divided into 2 groups. In group A (n=3), the abdominal wall defect of 5 cm × 1 cm was made in the fetal lambs, then was closed by strengthening suture; in group B (n=5), the abdominal wall defect of 5 cm × 2 cm was made in the fetal lambs, then was repairedby 2 layers of biological patches. After the lambs del ivered naturally, the lambs and their wounds were observed; at 10th day after birth, the scars were harvested for biomechanical and histological observations. Results One ewe of group A and 2 ewes of group B aborted, while the others were successfully del ivered. In group A, the abdominal incisions of 2 lambs healed well with a l ine-l ike scar and mild intra-abdominal adhesion, and the scar thickness was 4-5 mm. In group B, the abdominal incisions of 3 lambs did not heal completely with minor intra-abdominal adhesions, and the scar thickness was 3-4 mm. The wound breaking strength was 16, 20 N in group A and 10, 14, and 18 N in group B, respectively. A sl ight scar was seen in group A; skin ulcer and underlying fibrous connective tissue with inflammatory cell infiltration were seen in group B. Conclusion It was feasible to repair the abdominal wall defect of fetal lamb at late pregnancy in uterine. Small abdominal wall defect can be sutured directly; biological patch can be used to repair larger abdominal wall defect.
Objective To summarize the cl inical effect of allogenic acellular dermal matrix in repair of abdominal wall hernia and defect. Methods The cl inical data were analyzed retrospectively from 31 patients with abdominal wall hernia and defect repaired by allogenic acellular dermal matrix between March 2007 and November 2009. There were 19 males and 12females with an age range of 10-70 years (median, 42 years), including 6 abdominal wall defects caused by abdominal wall tumor resection, 4 patchs infection after abdominal wall hernia repair using prosthetic mesh, 2 incisional hernia, 1 parastomal hernia, 1 recurrent parastomal hernia receiving mesh repair, 1 mesh infection caused by parastomal hernia repair using prosthetic patch, 3 mesh infection caused by tension free inguina after hernia repair, and 13 inguinal hernia. There were 12 patients with contaminated or infectious wound. The disease duration was from 1 to 34 months (6 months on average). The defect size of abdominal wall ranged from 6 cm × 4 cm to 19 cm × 10 cm. Abdominal wall hernia or defect underwent repair using allogenic acelluar demall matrix. Results Of the 31 patients, 29 patients recovered with primary wound heal ing. Chronic sinus tract occurred in 1 patient and the wound was cured by change dressing. Wound dehiscence and patch exposure occurred in 1 patient, and second heal ing was achieved after change dressing. All the 31 patients were followed up 6-36 months, no abdominal wall hernia or hernia recurrence occurred in other patients except 1 patient who had abdominal bulge. And no foreign body sensation or chronic pain in wound area occurred. Conclusion It is feasible and safe to use allergenic acellular dermal matrix patch for repair of abdominal wall hernia or soft tissue defect, especially in contaminated or infectious wound.