Research of strain fields of aponeurotic tissue at implantation of knitted polymeric meshes

Abstract

Broad application in surgery of polymeric meshes for elimination of hernial defects demands a comprehension of features of their mechanical behavior at implantation in living tissues. The purpose of the study is to build a model of the surface simulating the aponeurotic tissue of the abdominal region during the implantation into it of two different types of polymeric knitted meshes. Conducting an analysis of mechanical behavior and identifying features of the mechanical interaction of mesh and aponeurotic tissue. The study analyzed the use of meshes, conditionally belonging to the categories "light" and "heavy", serving as for eliminating the hernial defect. The main research method is the finite element method. A feature of this study is the use of nonlinear dependencies when describing material models. As a result of the study is noted the importance of taking into account the nonlinearity of the mechanical properties of aponeurotic tissue and polymeric meshes. The study shows that the use of "heavy" meshes can cause а large strain in the areas of the surrounding tissues up to 11% with an intra-abdominal pressure of 4 KPa. The large strain up to 11% is possible during the implantation of “light” meshes in the area of their installation at the intraperitoneal pressure of 6 KPa. Over time, this can lead to new tissue defects. Attention is drawn to the need to obtain reliable knowledge of the mechanical characteristics of the restored living tissue.