Delayed primary closure of contaminated abdominal wall defects with non-crosslinked porcine acellular dermal matrix compared with conventional staged repair: a retrospective study

INTRODUCTION: Synthetic mesh has been used traditionally to repair abdominal wall defects, but its use is limited in the case of bacterial contamination. New biological materials are now being used successfully for delayed primary closure of contaminated abdominal wall defects. The costs of biological materials may prevent surgeons from using them. We compared the conventional staged repair of contaminated abdominal wall defects with a single-stage procedure using a non-crosslinked porcine acellular dermal matrix. METHODS: A total of 14 cases with Grade 3 contaminated abdominal wall defects underwent delayed primary closure of the abdomen using a non-crosslinked porcine acellular dermal matrix (Strattice™ Reconstructive Tissue Matrix, LifeCell Corp., Branchburg, NJ, USA). The results were compared with a group of 14 patients who had received conventional treatment for the repair of contaminated abdominal wall defects comprising a staged repair during two separate hospital admissions employing synthetic mesh. Treatment modalities, outcomes, and costs were compared. RESULTS: In all cases treated with delayed primary closure employing non-crosslinked porcine acellular dermal matrix, there were no complications related to its use. Two patients died due to unrelated events. Although treatment costs were estimated to be similar in the two groups, the patients treated with porcine acellular dermal matrix spent less time as an inpatient than those receiving conventional two-stage repair. CONCLUSIONS: Delayed primary closure of contaminated abdominal wall defects using a non-crosslinked porcine acellular dermal matrix may be a suitable alternative to conventional staged repair. In our patients, it resulted in early restoration of abdominal wall function and shorter hospitalization. The costs for treating contaminated abdominal wall defects using porcine acellular dermal matrix during a single hospital admission were not higher than costs for conventional two-stage repair. Further randomized studies are needed to expand upon these findings.