3.3.3. Passive biomechanical properties
Biomechanical properties of the vaginal explants and control tissue were compared at 60- days and 180- days post-implantation (Figure 4). The P4HB explants at 60 days, exhibited significantly lower stiffness values compared to the control tissue (4.58 ± 1.57 N/mm SEM vs 11.49 SEM, p=0.024). The stiffness of the explants after 180 days post-implantation increased significantly (12.498 ± 2.66 N/mm, 0.019) as compared to 60-days post-implantation and exhibited a comparable stiffness with the control tissue (11.343 ± 1.96 N/mm, SEM). According to the ball burst test which is not directly comparable to uni-axial tensile testing, there were no statistically significant changes in stiffness values of the PP explants at both time-points (4).