Two types of monofilament polypropylene mesh with different pore sizes, mass densities and burst strengths were used to repair two identical paired full-thickness abdominal wall defects in ten dogs, in order to compare their integration histology 90 days after implantation. On one side a standard mesh, Prolene (Ethicon), was sutured to the borders of the defect, while on the other a new ultralightweight macroporous mesh, Mpathy mesh, was used. There was a significantly greater densitometric proportion of mature (type I) collagen (58.38%) for Mpathy mesh compared to Prolene (34.05%, P=0.01). Although Prolene has 3.6 times the burst strength of Mpathy mesh, the implanted tissue strength was marginally greater for Mpathy mesh. We conclude that Mpathy mesh gives a surgical repair that is at least as strong as that provided by Prolene, along with a higher concentration of mature collagen and less fibrosis (P=0.07), in this canine histology model.