(358a) Synthetic Fascia

Failure of a soft connective tissue called fascia is at the heart of a number of debilitating medical maladies.  For example, over a half million surgeries in the US are performed to correct pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence each year.  However, currently available synthetic alternatives available in sufficient quantities do not match the materials properties of adjacent tissue leading to its erosion and may slip after insertion leading to device failure.  This talk will highlight our efforts to design synthetic fascia that matches the material properties of adjacent tissue and uses nanomaterials to minimize device slip.