Preclinical Evaluation of Cell-based Tissue Engineering Constructs in Animal Models of Pelvic Organ Prolapse

This thesis examined the effectiveness of combining stem cells with synthetic mesh to treat Pelvic Organ Prolapse. It identifies the effect of multiple child births on the anatomical composition of the vaginal wall, a new two-step method of inserting stem cell-seeded mesh into the vaginal wall and it refines an ovine animal vaginal surgery model to more closely match the human condition.