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New measurements to compare soft tissue anchoring systems in pelvic floor surgery
Author(s) -
Staat Manfred,
Trenz Eva,
Lohmann Philipp,
Frotscher Ralf,
Klinge Uwe,
Tabaza Ruth,
KirschnerHermanns Ruth
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of biomedical materials research part b: applied biomaterials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.665
H-Index - 108
eISSN - 1552-4981
pISSN - 1552-4973
DOI - 10.1002/jbm.b.32654
Subject(s) - polygon mesh , shrinkage , pelvic floor , computer science , soft tissue , biomedical engineering , materials science , structural engineering , engineering , surgery , medicine , composite material , computer graphics (images)
Suburethral slings as well as different meshes are widely used treating stress urinary incontinence and prolaps in women. With the development of MiniSlings and special meshes using less alloplastic material anchorage systems become more important to keep devices in place and to put some tension especially on the MiniSlings. To date, there are many different systems of MiniSlings of different companies on the market which differ in the structure of the used meshes and anchors. A new objective measurement method to compare different properties of MiniSling systems (mesh and anchor) is presented in this article. Ballistic gelatine acts as soft tissue surrogate. Significant differences in parameters like pull‐out strength of anchors or shrinkage of meshes under loading conditions have been determined. The form and size of the anchors as well as the structural stability of the meshes are decisive for a proper integration. The tested anchorings sytems showed markedly different mechanical function at their respective load bearing capacity. As the stable fixation of the device in tissue is a prerequisite for a permanet reinforcement, the proposed test system permits further optimisation of anchor and mesh devices to improve the success of the surgical treatment. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater , 2012.