Evaluation of porcine hydrated dermis augmented repair in a fascial defect model.

Surgical mesh composed of extracellular matrix promotes healing of difficult soft tissue and orthopedic repairs in preclinical and clinical trials. In this study, a novel extracellular matrix prepared from porcine hydrated dermis was evaluated in an in vivo fascial defect model in sheep. Fascial defects were created, and then acutely repaired with surgical mesh. Healed surgical sites were evaluated grossly, histologically, and biomechanically at 6 and 12 weeks. Porcine hydrated dermis extracellular matrix performed favorably compared to negative control empty defects and native fascia, with minimal gross adhesion, low histologic inflammatory scores, and significantly greater tensile strength of the healing surgical site when compared with native fascia.