Histological and ultrastructural evaluation of human decellularized matrix as a hernia repair device

ABSTRACT

Recently, interest has been increasing for human decellularized matrices, due to their ability to reduce numerous side effects related to hernia repair. To date, only animal studies investigated the biological interaction post-implant of human decellularized matrices for soft tissue repair. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the morphological response one year post implant of human decellularized matrix, through morphological analysis of human biopsies. The histological and ultrastructural results revealed a perfect cellular repopulation and neoangiogenesis, with minimal inflammatory response and a well-organized collagen matrix. The results have indicated that this scaffold can be an effective treatment for hernia.

KEYWORDS:

• Biopsy specimen
• histological analysis
• human decellularized matrix
• post-implant evaluation
• ultrastructural analysis

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank “Fondazione Cassa dei Risparmi-Cesena”, “La Fenice ONLUS” Association for providing financial support to this project.

Declaration of interest

The authors have not published this manuscript in any other publication. The authors alone are responsible for the contents of this said manuscript. The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The authors Elena Bondioli and Davide Melandri are inventors of the patent (US 2010/0247604 A1) on the decellularization method that was applied on the human dermis.