Assessing the Adequacy of Absorbable Braided Suture for Laparoscopic High Ligation in Rabbits.

Purpose: Our previous work demonstrated that intentional peritoneal injury reduces the incidence of recurrence of a patent processus vaginalis even after removal of the suture. Therefore, the necessity of permanent suture has been brought into question because of the risk of suture granuloma formation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of absorbable, braided versus permanent, braided suture in a rabbit survival model of laparoscopic percutaneous ligation of the processus vaginalis with intentional peritoneal injury.
Materials and Methods: Eighteen New Zealand White rabbits underwent bilateral subcutaneous endoscopically assisted ligation (SEAL) of the internal ring. Before SEAL, peritoneal injury was caused with endoscopic shears. Each animal was randomized to receive absorbable braided suture on one side and permanent braided suture on the contralateral side. The rabbits were survived for 8 weeks to allow for complete hydrolysis of the absorbable suture. Necropsy was performed during which the integrity of the repair was assessed with insufflation of carbon dioxide up to 30 mm Hg. McNemar's test for paired data was performed for statistical analysis.
Results: Seventeen rabbits survived 8 weeks. One rabbit died in the early postoperative period because of urinary tract obstruction. After insufflation, four (24%) recurrences were present in the absorbable group and two (12%) recurrences were present in the permanent group. This difference was not statistically significant (P = .50). Both rabbits with a recurrence on the side with permanent suture also had a recurrence with absorbable suture on the contralateral side. In all rabbits, the permanent suture was identified, whereas there was no visual evidence of absorbable suture.
Conclusions: A trend toward a higher recurrence rate with the use of absorbable braided suture was present, although, in this study, the finding was not statistically significant. Caution should be used when considering implementation of absorbable suture for laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair.