Comparative Evaluation Of Synthetic Materials Used For Experimental Abdominal Wall Closure ✓ Three prosthetic materials Mersilen (Dacron), Polyropylen (Marlex) and P.T.F.E. (Goretex) have been popularly used for the closure of abdominal wall defects resulting from various reasons. In this study, different prosthetic materials were used to close the 2x2 cm. full-thickness experimental abdominal wall defects, in each of the three experimental groups consisting of ten rats. After a three weeks period of recovery, three major groups of para-meters were evaluated: abdominal bursting pressures, adhesions and wound healing (macroscopic evaluation), and, nature of the tissue filling te defect, the amount and the thickness of the defect, the amount and the thickness of the fibrous tissue and foreign body reactions (microscopic evaluation). Macroscopic and microscopic results were enu¬merated in a scoring system and were used separately and in combination to make a comparison between experimental groups. Bursting pressure was lowest in Mersilen and highest in P.T.F.E. (193.+22 mmHg and 365.0±8.6 mmHg respectively), and the difference was statistically significant (p