Bacterial adherence to different meshes used in abdominal surgery.

Background: We studied the influence of morphology and type of material of abdominal wall prostheses in the avoidance of bacterial adhesion in acute and chronic mesh infections.

Methods: Three different types of prostheses were compared: 1) High-density polypropylene monofilament mesh (PMM); 2) low-density PMM; and 3) prostheses composed of low-density polypropylene and a non-porous hydrophilic film (composite prostheses). Microbial adhesion tests were performed using reference strains of Staphylococcus aureus 15981, Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC 35984, Mycobacterium abscessus DSM 44196, and Mycobacterium fortuitum ATCC 13756 using a protocol described previously.