Collagen scaffold: a treatment for simulated maternal birth injury in the rat model.

Abstract

We sought to determine the impact of a collagen scaffold on the healing response after simulated birth injury in a rodent model. A total of 52 virgin animals were divided into the following groups: control (n = 18), injured untreated (n = 18), and injured treated with porcine small intestinal submucosa (SIS) (n = 16). Histopathology, immunofluorescence of collagens, and vaginal mechanical properties were used to assess the impact of injury and the subsequent healing response. Collagen I/V decreased by 44% after birth injury relative to the controls (P = .001). Birth injury resulted in inferior mechanical properties of the vagina with a decrease of 38% in the tangent modulus and 44% in the tensile strength. SIS improved the collagen I/V and I/III ratios by 28% and 46%, respectively, paralleling the trend in the mechanical properties. Simulated birth injury negatively affected vaginal biochemical and biomechanical properties long term. SIS treatment mitigated the impact of birth injury by enhancing tissue quality.