A Porcine Abdominal Model for Quantitative Assessment of Incision Tension After Sequential Subcutaneous Dissection

This article presents a standardized animal protocol to quantify immediate pre-suture incision tension following varying degrees of bilateral subcutaneous dissection. The model uses healthy domestic pigs, a 10 cm × 4 cm fusiform abdominal incision, sequential dissection at predefined lateral distances, and a sterilizable handheld lateral-force-based incision-tension meter. The protocol enables objective evaluation of how the extent affects local incision-edge recoil under controlled intraoperative conditions. It does not measure post-suture closure tension. Four male domestic pigs (45-60 kg) were used as self-controlled experimental models. The tensions were measured under four conditions: no dissection and bilateral dissection of 2 cm, 6 cm, and 10 cm. In representative experiments, no procedural difficulties were encountered with any of the animals. Immediate pre-suture tension varied significantly among the four measurement nodes, with a non-linear relationship: limited dissection increased tension, but as dissection proceeded, tension decreased between 2 cm and 10 cm. This protocol offers a repeatable method for biomechanical evaluation in this particular model of a 4-cm wide incision in the porcine abdomen. The results cannot be directly applied to other incision sizes, surgical locations, forces applied to close the incisions, or postoperative results.