Surgical repair of tissue defects

1. A method for repairing an internal defect in living mammalian tissue comprising covering an internal tissue defect and surrounding tissue with a prosthetic by placing said prosthetic over said defect and against said surrounding tissue; wherein the prosthetic is coated on at least one side with an adhesive before application to tissue, wherein said prosthetic is formed of a material selected from the group consisting of polytetrafluoroethylene and a fibrotic polypropylene stimulator material; and wherein said adhesive is encapsulated with a water soluble material so as to be non-adhesive until it has been placed in contact with tissue.

2. A method for repairing a defect in living mammalian tissue comprising: covering a tissue defect and surrounding tissue with a prosthetic by placing said prosthetic over said defect and against said surrounding tissue; and applying a surgical adhesive to said prosthetic on said surrounding tissue on at least one location on said prosthetic and said surrounding tissue to permit surrounding tissue and said prosthetic adhere to each other; the method further including placing at least one absorbent pad on said tissue; delivering said adhesive onto said at least one absorbent pad on said tissue; and suturing said at least one adsorbent pad to said prosthetic.

3. The method as recited in claim 1 , including: applying said adhesive-containing prosthetic in situ through an endoscope.

4. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein said adhesive is selected from the group consisting of a cyanoacrylate-based adhesive, a fibrin-based adhesive, and a light-crosslinked albumin solder.

5. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein said adhesive is selected from the group consisting of a polyurethane-based adhesive and a polyisocyanate-based adhesive.

6. The method as recited in claim 5 , in which said polyurethane-based adhesive includes a foaming agent added to produce an open cell geometry upon curing in situ to promote tissue ingrowth.

7. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein said adhesive is encapsulated with a coating before its application to said prosthetic.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein said coating is water soluble.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein said coating is pressure sensitive.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the adhesive-coated prosthetic is further coated with a water soluble coating which prevents the adherence of the adhesive to tissue until the coating has dissolved.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein said water-soluble coating is applied at the time of manufacture of said prosthetic.