Scientific paperEffects of resterilization on mechanical properties of polypropylene meshes
Section snippets
Mesh
An undyed, knitted, pure polypropylene mesh piece, 30 × 30 cm in size, that originally was sterilized by the manufacturer (Herniamesh S.r.l.), was used.
Gas sterilization
Gas sterilizations were performed in the eto.krt 135 device (Ekol Medical, Ankara, Turkey). Ethylene oxide gas was applied to the specimens for 4.5 hours at 55°C for each sterilization process. After the sterilization phases, aeration was applied to the samples for 12 hours. For repetitive sterilizations, the same procedure was performed on the
Results
The Fmax values of each group are shown in Table 1. Although the values in the control group and the other groups were somewhat different, these differences were not found to be statistically significant (P > .05).
The ΔL values of each group are shown in Table 1. Groups A2, A3, and G3 were found to have significantly lower values in comparison with the control group (P < .05), whereas differences between the control group and other groups were not statistically significant (P > .05).
The E
Comments
Polypropylene meshes are the preferred material for tension-free inguinal hernioplasties and ventral hernia repairs in many centers today [7], [8], [9], [10]. These meshes are available in sterile packages for single use. However, because it is cheaper, some surgeons prefer cutting 1 large piece of mesh into several smaller pieces and to re-use the pieces after resterilization. Although it is not recommended by the manufacturers mainly because of the risk for infection, recent studies have
Conclusions
In summary, ethylene oxide sterilization results in minimal changes to the mechanical properties of polypropylene meshes according to our testing methods. It is preferable to use autoclave sterilization, which may be used for a single cycle if gas sterilization is not available. However, our findings apply only to the mechanical properties of polypropylene meshes and do not apply to the potential issues of infection or biocompatibility in patients.
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