Spiral tacks may contribute to intra-abdominal adhesion formation.

Abstract

With the inception of laparoscopic ventral hernia repair came a novel device not used in conventional hernia repair; the spiral tack. We conducted an experimental study on pigs to determine whether spiral tacks contribute to adhesion formation. Using a standard laparoscopic technique in pigs, pieces of polypropylene mesh were fixed to the fascia on the upper abdominal wall, with polypropylene sutures on a randomly chosen side (side 1), and with 5-mm spiral tacks on the opposite side (side 2). The extent, type, and tenacity of the adhesions were assessed on postoperative days (PODs) 30 and 90. The mesh fixed to the abdominal wall with spiral tacks tended to increase the extent, type, and tenacity of adhesions more than the mesh fixed with polypropylene sutures (P < 0.05). Spiral tacks contributed to the formation of adhesions more than polypropylene mesh did. Although this was a small-scale animal study, our findings suggest that the effect of spiral tacks used in laparoscopic ventral hernia repair should be assessed and the consequences monitored more closely.