title: Influence of body mass index on the biomechanical properties of the human prolapsed anterior vaginal wall.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We report the influence of body mass index (BMI) on the biomechanical properties of human prolapsed anterior vaginal wall (AVW) tissue samples. We hypothesize that women with AVW prolapse would have the same vaginal wall biomechanical properties regardless of their weight.
  
  
  METHODS
  Following Institutional Review Board approval, age-comparable postmenopausal women with symptomatic stage II-III AVW prolapse underwent excision of a short vaginal wall sample during transvaginal prolapse repair. Excised samples were subjected to uniaxial tensile testing using an Instron 5655 (Instron, Norwood, MA, USA) within 2 h of harvest to measure intrinsic biomechanical properties. Patients were divided into two groups (A: BMI <25 and B: BMI >25) to compare tissue biomechanical properties after controlling for age and parity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  From 2011 to 2013, 28 consecutive women were studied, 13 in group A and 15 in group B. Patients with BMI >25 developed higher tissue stresses, including higher tangent moduli, at selected strain levels than patients with BMI <25.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Contrary to our hypothesis, this study observed a relationship between BMI and human AVW biomechanical properties, with more obese women having stiffer tissue properties.
authors.affiliation: Joint Graduate Program in Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at Arlington and University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA.
authors.forename: Sandra Ochoa
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.forename: Robert C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Eberhart
authors.forename: Philippe E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Zimmern
authors.forename: Cheng-Jen
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Chuong
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D015992:Body Mass Index; D055119:Elastic Modulus; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D056887:Pelvic Organ Prolapse / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D013718:Tensile Strength; D014621:Vagina / Q000503:physiopathology*