A new material has been suggested as an alternative to treat pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence to the current mesh material, polypropylene.
Medical mesh
Researchers from the University of Sheffield have proposed polyurethane as an alternative to polypropylene, which has led to thousands of women suffering adverse side effects after certain surgical procedures.
Scientists from the Department of Material Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield state that polyurethane is softer, more elastic and is better suited for use in the pelvic floor. More so, the researchers believe that the introduction of oestrogen into the material could help form new blood vessels and speed up the healing process.
Due to the elastic material of polyurethane, the researchers believe that the material is better suited to support the pelvic organs.
Research showed that when used, the mesh retained its strength and the oestrogen did not compromise the material’s elasticity.
Professor Sheila MacNeil, professor of Tissue Engineering in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield said: “For many years now, surgeons have been treating the problems of urinary stress incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse using the only synthetic material they had to hand - polypropylene.
“In certain procedures, for example, when the polypropylene mesh is used as a thin strip to support the urethra and reduce the symptoms of stress incontinence, the results show it is beneficial to the patient and carries relatively little risk.
“However, when much bigger areas of the same material are inserted through the vagina to relieve pelvic organ prolapse, the complication rate is frankly unacceptable.
“Surgeons who are experts in this area have concluded that there is a need for a new synthetic material that is better suited for use in the pelvic floor. We started our research because it was clear that the polypropylene mesh was not fit for use in the pelvic floor.”
Last year the UK's health watchdog NICE recommended that polypropylene be banned from treating prolapse due to safety concerns and should only be used for research purposes.
Commenting on the announcement that University of Sheffield has developed a new polyurethane mesh, Chair of the APPG on Surgical Mesh Implants, Owen Smith MP said:
“Whilst I welcome new interventions to treat stress urinary incontinence and prolapse, I would urge great caution over the use of synthetic materials to treat these conditions. It is crucial that lessons are learnt from the use of polypropylene mesh and the life-changing complications women have experienced since undergoing surgery. This new material must undergo rigorous and strict clinical trials and should only be used if such complications can be ruled out.”