Biocompatibility study of poly vinyl alcohol)-based electrospun scaffold for hernia repair

Abdominal hernia is a purely surgical disorder where due to a defect in the abdominal wall, tissues or organs can extrude out of the abdominal cavity. The only conclusive treatment is surgical making a mesh implantation indispensable. Tissue engineering is now a promising method for creating scaffolds that provide an adequate support for tissue ingrowth. Our purpose was to develop a non-adhesive hernia mesh, which could be used in the repair of abdominal wall hernias but concurrently a scaffold for abdominal tissue regeneration. Poly(vinyl alcohol) bulk hydrogels are promising materials in wound dressing hence, interest in electrospun poly(vinyl alcohol) meshes has emerged in the past few years for different biomedical applications. In the present paper, preparation of electrospun poly(vinyl alcohol) fiber membranes and their in vitro and in vivo behaviors were followed to study the adhesion, biocompatibility, and biodegradability of the meshes. Our results showed that the surface of PVA meshes does not favor cell adhesion in vitro. During the animal experiments, PVA meshes demonstrated good integration into the surrounding tissue with minimal inflammatory reaction and minimal adhesions to infra abdominal structures.