Each year, an estimated 225,000-280,000 women undergo surgery for repair of pelvic floor disorders in the United States, with many involving placement of a synthetic polypropylene (PP) mesh designed to restore direct support to the vagina and hence indirect support to the pelvic organs (1). In spite of high anatomical success rates, the use of synthetic meshes has been hampered by mesh related complications causing significant patient morbidity (2) and prompting two recent FDA warnings against the use of mesh (3). Thus, as the concern about the use of mesh increases, there is an urgent need to define the impact of mesh on host tissue and to understand how different material properties of the mesh may direct the host response.
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