Development of a cellulose-based prosthetic mesh for pelvic organ prolapse treatment: In vivo long-term evaluation in an ewe vagina model

Bibliometric Analyses of the Research Trends of Female Pelvic Organ Prolapse

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS

The study was aimed at systematically analyzing the research status and trends of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) using bibliometrics.

METHODS

We retrieved documents published between 1975 and 2022 from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database, and manually selected them for bibliometric analyses of country, institution, journal, highly locally cited documents and research trends based on co-citation clustering and keywords using the R Bibliometricx package and CiteSpace software.

RESULTS

A total of 5,703 publications were included. Although the number of annual publications on POP increased, the trend of annual publication reached an obvious plateau in the first half of the 2010s. The USA, China, the UK, the University of Michigan, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Sydney were the top three countries and institutions with the most publications respectively. International Urogynecology Journal, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Obstetrics and Gynecology were the journals with the most extensive academic influence on the field of POP research. The international cooperation was lacking and the highly cited documents focused on high-level, evidence-based studies. Epidemiological studies and surgical treatment have achieved a plateau or decline. Recent studies have focused on conservative treatment, physical therapy, and minimally invasive surgery. In addition to evidence-based medicine studies, tissue engineering is the future direction of POP.

CONCLUSIONS

This study used bibliometric analyses to provide insights into the status and potential research directions of POP. More high-quality, evidence-based medicine studies and in-depth tissue engineering research should be propelled forward.

Chemical Scalpel: An Experimental Collagenase-Based Treatment for Peritoneal Adhesions

(1) Background: Abdominal adhesions are a common disease appearing after any type of abdominal surgery and may prolong surgical time and cause intestinal obstruction, infertility, or chronic pain. We propose the use of intraperitoneal collagenase to perform chemical adhesiolysis based on the pathophysiology and histology of adhesions. (2) Methods: We generated an adhesion model with intraperitoneal polypropylene meshes. Four months later, we evaluated the efficacy of the treatment in blinded form, i.e., 0.05% collagenase vs. placebo at 37 °C for 20 min. Protocol 1: Ten rats with ten mesh fragments, in which an attempt was made to remove the maximum number of meshes in a 5-min period. Protocol 2: Six rats with four mesh fragments in the sides of the abdominal cavity in which adhesiolysis was performed using a device that measures burst pressure. (3) Results: Protocol 1: 42% efficacy in the collagenase group versus 8% in the control group (p < 0.013). Protocol 2: 188.25 mmHg (SD 69.65) in the collagenase group vs. 325.76 mmHg (SD 50.25) in the control group (p < 0.001). (4) Conclusions: Collagenase allows for the safe and effective chemical adhesiolysis in this experimental model of adhesions.

In Vitro Cytotoxicity, Colonisation by Fibroblasts and Antimicrobial Properties of Surgical Meshes Coated with Bacterial Cellulose

Hernia repairs are the most common abdominal wall elective procedures performed by general surgeons. Hernia-related postoperative infective complications occur with 10% frequency. To counteract the risk of infection emergence, the development of effective, biocompatible and antimicrobial mesh adjuvants is required. Therefore, the aim of our in vitro investigation was to evaluate the suitability of bacterial cellulose (BC) polymer coupled with gentamicin (GM) antibiotic as an absorbent layer of surgical mesh. Our research included the assessment of GM-BC-modified meshes’ cytotoxicity against fibroblasts ATCC CCL-1 and a 60-day duration cell colonisation measurement. The obtained results showed no cytotoxic effect of modified meshes. The quantified fibroblast cells levels resembled a bimodal distribution depending on the time of culturing and the type of mesh applied. The measured GM minimal inhibitory concentration was 0.47 µg/mL. Results obtained in the modified disc-diffusion method showed that GM-BC-modified meshes inhibited bacterial growth more effectively than non-coated meshes. The results of our study indicate that BC-modified hernia meshes, fortified with appropriate antimicrobial, may be applied as effective implants in hernia surgery, preventing risk of infection occurrence and providing a high level of biocompatibility with regard to fibroblast cells.

The impact of bacterial contamination on the host response towards fully absorbable poly-4-hydroxybutyrate and nonabsorbable polypropylene pelvic floor implants

Polypropylene (PP) implants for the vaginal surgical correction of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) are known for adverse events, like vaginal or visceral exposures. It is hypothesized that this is a result of a prolonged inflammatory response. One of the triggering factors of prolonged inflammation might be bacterial contamination. A possible solution might lie in an absorbable biomaterial, which provides initial mechanical support while being gradually replaced by the host tissue.

With this study we aimed to compare the host response, in a subcutaneous mouse implant infection model, to delayed absorbable poly-4-hydroxybutyrate (P4HB) and a latest generation PP implant. By comparing non-infected to Staphylococcus aureus infected mice, we assessed how bacterial contamination affects the host response and its role in the development of complications. Further, we included sham surgery as a control, mimicking the wound response in native tissue repair.

Despite the higher surface area of the P4HB implants, the clearance of infection was similarly delayed in the presence of a P4HB or PP implant, as compared to sham. Further, the host response towards P4HB and PP was quite comparable, yet collagen deposition was significantly increased around infected P4HB implants at early time points. Adverse event rates were similar, though implant exposures were only seen in infected mice and more often with PP (11.1%) than P4HB implants (5.6%). Infected mice overall had significantly higher levels of infiltration of inflammatory cells and lower levels of vascularization and collagen deposition compared to non-infected mice. Thus, for both P4HB and PP, bacterial contamination negatively affected mesh integration by increased inflammation and an increased adverse event rate. Altogether, our results from this subcutaneous mouse implant infection study suggest that P4HB could be a promising degradable alternative to PP, warranting further research to study its potential as a new surgical solution for women with POP.

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Absorbable poly-4-hydroxybutyrate (P4HB) is studied as a novel pelvic floor implant.

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Comparable host response to P4HB and polypropylene in a subcutaneous mouse implant infection model.

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Implant exposures exclusively occurred upon Staphylococcus aureus infection.

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Exposures occurred less with P4HB (5.6%) compared to polypropylene (11.1%).

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S. aureus infection increased inflammation and deranged the host response.