Incisional hernia affects up to 20% of patients after abdominal surgery. Unlike other types of hernia, its prognosis is poor, and patients suffer from recurrence within 10 years of the operation. Currently used hernia-repair meshes do not guarantee success, but only extend the recurrence-free period by about 5 years. Most of them are nonresorbable, and these implants can lead to many complications that are in some cases life-threatening. Electrospun nanofibers of various polymers have been used as tissue scaffolds and have been explored extensively in the last decade, due to their low cost and good biocompatibility. Their architecture mimics the natural extracellular matrix. We tested a biodegradable polyester poly-ε-caprolactone in the form of nanofibers as a scaffold for fascia healing in an abdominal closure-reinforcement model for prevention of incisional hernia formation. Both in vitro tests and an experiment on a rabbit model showed promising results.

Biomedical Centre Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen Charles University Prague Pilsen Czech Republic

Department of Anatomy and Biomechanics Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Charles University Prague Prague Czech Republic

Department of Surgery 2nd Faculty of Medicine Charles University Prague Prague Czech Republic

Department of Surgery and Orthopedics Small Animal Clinic Faculty of Veterinary Medicine University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Science Brno Central European Institute of Technology Brno Czech Republic

Institute of Biophysics 2nd Faculty of Medicine Charles University Prague Prague Czech Republic ; Laboratory of Tissue Engineering Institute of Experimental Medicine Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Prague Czech Republic

Institute of Biophysics 2nd Faculty of Medicine Charles University Prague Prague Czech Republic ; Laboratory of Tissue Engineering Institute of Experimental Medicine Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Prague Czech Republic ; Faculty of Biomedical Engineering Czech Technical University Prague Kladno Czech Republic

Institute of Biophysics 2nd Faculty of Medicine Charles University Prague Prague Czech Republic ; Laboratory of Tissue Engineering Institute of Experimental Medicine Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Prague Czech Republic ; University Center for Energy Efficient Buildings Czech Technical University Prague Buštěhrad Czech Republic

Laboratory of Tissue Engineering Institute of Experimental Medicine Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Prague Czech Republic ; Department of Breeding and Zoohygiene of Laboratory Animals Institute of Physiology Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Prague Czech Republic

Laboratory of Tissue Engineering Institute of Experimental Medicine Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Prague Czech Republic ; University Center for Energy Efficient Buildings Czech Technical University Prague Buštěhrad Czech Republic

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