Aim: To examine the time-dependent biomechanical properties of four different implanted synthetic materials. Materials and Methods: 18 New Zealand rabbits were randomly categorized into three groups: group 1 to be evaluated at the 2nd week, group 2 at the 8th week, and group 3 at the 12th week. Before the implantation, baseline values were obtained. Each of the 2 × 5 cm sized materials of mersilene, prolene, ultrapro and vypro mesh were placed in the anterior abdominal fascia. The mesh materials were removed, tensile strength (N/mm2) and ultimate strain (%) were measured by tensinometry and surface area losses (cm2) were calculated. Results: Tensile strength values (mean ± SD) were 9.2 ± 1.5, 8.5 ± 1.2 for mersilene, 25.2 ± 7.3, 14.0 ± 2.9 for prolene, 2.2 ± 0.6, 12.5 ± 1.4 for ultrapro and 8.1 ± 1.6, 7.0 ± 1.8 for vypro at baseline and the 12th week. Ultimate strain values (mean ± SD) were 131.2 ± 46.1, 110.4 ± 98.6 for mersilene, 181.0 ± 26.4, 78.5 ± 14.4 for prolene, 91.5 ± 8.2, 89.6 ± 20.5 for ultrapro and 84.3 ± 8.9, 55.0 ± 13.2 for vypro at baseline and the 12th week. Surface areas (mean ± SD) were 8.87 ± 0.14, 9.38 ± 0.17, 8.4 ± 0.32 and 8.76 ± 0.16 for mersilene, prolene, ultrapro and vypro at the 12th week respectively. Conclusions: Although prolene mesh demonstrated a decrease in its tensile strength it still remains the highest at the 12th week. Considering the significant time-dependent increase in its tensile strength, ultrapro mesh should be studied in humans. A final decision on the preference of ultrapro mesh in sling surgery could be reached after such studies.

Keywords:
Synthetic materials, Urinary incontinence, Sling surgery, Biomechanics
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© 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel
2008
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