Self-forming prosthesis for repair of soft tissue defects

A method for repairing a defect in a tissue or muscle wall, comprising the steps of:

• providing a layer formed of a flexible surgical mesh fabric for tissue ingrowth;
• said layer of flexible surgical mesh fabric including a substantially planar tab attached thereto, the center of said tab being attached to the geometric center of said layer for applying force to urge said layer into the defect, said tab being substantially smaller in area than said layer, said layer being self-forming from a first configuration, which is substantially planar, to a second configuration, which occludes the defect upon forcibly urging said layer into the defect;
• and
• forcibly urging said layer of flexible surgical mesh fabric into said defect to occlude said defect.

A prosthesis for repairing a tissue or muscle wall defect comprising:

• a first layer formed of a flexible surgical mesh fabric for tissue ingrowth;
• a second layer formed of a second flexible surgical fabric;
• a barrier layer positioned between said first and second layers for preventing tissue adhesion;
• wherein said first layer, said second layer, and said barrier layer are attached by two or more joins spaced radially about the geometric center of the first layer, each of said joins being spaced at a predetermined interval from an adjacent join, at least two of said joins being non-linearly aligned, and wherein said first layer, said second layer, and said barrier layer are self-forming from a first configuration, in which said first layer, said second layer, and said barrier layer are substantially planar, to a second configuration, which approximates the shape of the defect upon forcibly urging said first, second, and barrier layers into the defect.

A method of manufacturing a prosthesis for repairing a defect in a tissue or muscle wall comprising the steps of:

• providing a first sheet of biomaterial,
• forming a substantially planar tab of biomaterial for facilitating insertion of the prosthesis into the tissue defect, the tab being substantially smaller in area than the first sheet of biomaterial, and
• joining the center of the substantially planar tab to the geometric center of the first sheet of biomaterial,
• wherein the first sheet of biomaterial is self-forming about the tab from a first configuration, which is substantially planar, to a second configuration, which approximates the contour of the defect upon forcibly urging the prosthesis into the defect.

A method of manufacturing a prosthesis for repairing a defect in a tissue or muscle wall comprising the steps of:

• providing a first sheet of biomaterial,
• providing a second sheet of biomaterial,
• attaching the first sheet of biomaterial to the second sheet of biomaterial by two or more joins spaced radially about the geometric center of the first sheet and spacing each of said joins at a predetermined interval from an adjacent join, at least two of said joins being non-linearly aligned,
• wherein the first and second sheets of biomaterial are self-forming from a first configuration, in which said first and second sheets are substantially planar, to a second configuration, which approximates the contour of the defect upon forcibly urging the prosthesis into the defect.