Histological Inflammatory Response to Transvaginal Polypropylene Mesh for Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery

We prospectively evaluated the histological inflammatory response to the large polypropylene transvaginal mesh used for pelvic organ prolapse surgery.Ten patients and 8 controls underwent vaginal punch biopsy sampling before surgery and patients also underwent it 1 year after pelvic reconstructive surgery using polypropylene mesh. Foreign body response to the mesh was assessed using a combination of histological, semiquantitative and computerized image based analysis.Compared to preoperative histology there was a significant postoperative increase in macrophage and mast cell counts (p = 0.03 and 0.01) but no significant changes in the count of cells involved primarily in the infectious cell response or collagen density and the elastin area fraction at the mesh-tissue interface (p = 0.2 and 0.3, respectively). Three cases of mild granuloma formation and 2 of mild erosion were observed. There was no significant change in epithelial thickness when comparing preoperative and postoperative samples.When used for pelvic reconstructive surgery, macroporous monofilament polypropylene mesh induces a mild but persistent foreign body reaction.