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Updated: Apr 23, 2026
Use of a Rat Model to Study Ventral Abdominal Hernia Repair
Published on: October 2, 2017
Full thickness abdominal wall defect in growing rats as a model for congenital diaphragmatic hernia prosthetic repair
Léonardo Gucciardo1, Yves Ozog2, Silvia Rusconi3
1Department of Development and Regeneration, Faculty of Medicine, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Engineering Research Center, University Hospital Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Background:
Large congenital diaphragmatic hernia may require prosthetic correction. Acellular collagen matrices were introduced to avoid complications owing to the use of synthetic patches. We tested 3 different ACM for reconstruction of an abdominal wall defect in an animal model that mimics the fast growth during infancy.
Methods:
Pelvisoft® (CR Bard, Covington, GA) and 2 investigational ACM were used for primary reconstruction of a full thickness abdominal wall defect. 3months-old rats (n=26) were allowed to survive for 90days after implantation. Anatomical, tensiometric and histological analyses were performed. Based on good outcomes, we did the same with 1month-old rats (n=54). Unoperated rats were used for obtaining reference tensiometric values of selected native tissues.
Results:
Major wound complications were exclusively observed in 1month-old rats. All explants in both groups thinned significantly (p<0.03) and had an elastic modulus increasing over time, far above that from native tissues at 90days of life. Both investigational ACM induced a more vigorous foreign body reaction than Pelvisoft(®).
Conclusions:
The shift from 3 to 1month-old rats was associated with wound complications. Pelvisoft® showed a better biocompatibility than the 2 investigational ACM. Passive biomechanical properties of all explants were still not comparable to that of native tissues.
