Methodology for biomechanical testing of fresh anterior wall vaginal samples from postmenopausal women undergoing cystocele repair.

GOAL: To explore the methodological challenges of biomechanical testing of freshly harvested human anterior vaginal wall (HAVW) samples.

METHOD: Longitudinal full-thickness samples of HAVW were excised during cystocele repair in postmenopausal women and age-matched controls. Two methods of tissue storage during transport were compared. All samples were prepared for uniaxial testing within 2 hr of harvest and loaded at a rate of 0.5 mm/sec, until irreversible deformation was observed. Young's modulus and other parameters were extracted from the tensile stress-strain curves.

RESULTS: Samples were obtained over 2 years from 42 patients. Significant differences in biomechanical parameters were noted based on the degree of hydration of the tissue, suggesting that the wetter samples were mechanically weaker.

CONCLUSIONS: This study reports on a new method for testing the biomechanical properties of freshly harvested HAVW tissues and the impact of tissue hydration during transport between the operating room and the testing lab.