Mesh implant for use in reconstruction of soft tissue defects

Abstract

The present invention relates to a resorbable polymeric mesh implant, that is intended to be used in the reconstruction of soft tissue defects. The mesh implant comprises at least a first and a second material, wherein the second material is substantially degraded at a later point in time than the first material following the time of implantation. The mesh implant is adapted to have a predetermined modulus of elasticity that gradually is decreased until the mesh implant is completely degraded and subsequently resorbed. Due to the gradual decrease in the modulus of elasticity of the inventive mesh implant, the regenerating tissue may gradually take over the load applied to the tissue defect area.

1 . A resorbable polymeric mesh implant whose implant configuration varies over time after implantation for use in reconstruction of soft tissue defects, wherein the resorbable polymeric mesh implant comprises:
 at least a first material and a last-degraded material, wherein the last-degraded material is substantially degraded at a later point in time than the first material, wherein a modulus of elasticity of the first material includes both the modulus of elasticity of the material itself and also the elasticity due to a present structural configuration of the first material in said implant configuration, wherein a modulus of elasticity of the last-degraded material includes both the modulus of elasticity of the material itself and also the elasticity due to a present structural configuration of the last-degraded material in said implant configuration, and wherein   the modulus of elasticity of the last-degraded material is significantly lower than the modulus of elasticity of the first material;   wherein the last-degraded material has a modulus of elasticity in its configuration that is significantly lower than the modulus of elasticity of earlier degraded material during the time period when the last-degraded material is the only material remaining in the mesh implant;   wherein the last-degraded material has a modulus of elasticity that corresponds to an elongation of 18 to 32% when subjected to a tensile load of 16 N/cm.   
     
     
         2 . The resorbable polymeric mesh implant according to  claim 1 , wherein the last-degraded material is substantially degraded at a point in time within a time range of 3-18 months following implantation. 
     
     
         3 . The resorbable polymeric mesh implant according to  claim 1 , wherein the mesh implant is provided with a further material, which is substantially degraded approximately at the same point in time as the first material. 
     
     
         4 . The resorbable polymeric mesh implant according to  claim 3 , wherein the mesh implant is provided with still a further material, wherein the further material is substantially degraded approximately at a same point in time as any of the other materials present in the mesh implant. 
     
     
         5 . The resorbable polymeric mesh implant according to  claim 1 , wherein the materials are chosen in order to construe a mesh implant that is tailored for a specific soft tissue defect to be reconstructed. 
     
     
         6 . The resorbable polymeric mesh implant according to  claim 1 , wherein the mesh implant is provided with a resorbable film in order to prevent adhesion of the mesh implant onto surrounding tissue. 
     
     
         7 . The resorbable polymeric mesh implant according to  claim 6 , wherein the resorbable film is a hydrophilic carbohydrate film. 
     
     
         8 . The resorbable polymeric mesh implant according to  claim 1 , wherein the first material comprises or is incorporated into a woven or knitted, porous structure with a pore size in a range of 50-4000 microns. 
     
     
         9 . The resorbable polymeric mesh implant according to  claim 1 , wherein the first material comprises or is incorporated into a non-woven structure. 
     
     
         10 . The resorbable polymeric mesh implant according to  claim 9 , wherein the non-woven structure is an electro-spun structure. 
     
     
         11 . The resorbable polymeric mesh implant according to  claim 1 , wherein the last-degraded material has a woven or knitted, porous structure with a pore size in the range of 0.5-4 mm. 
     
     
         12 . A resorbable polymeric mesh implant according to  claim 1 , comprising:
 at least the first and a second material, wherein the modulus of elasticity of the second material is lower than the modulus of elasticity of the first material and wherein the second material is substantially degraded at a later point in time than the first material.   
     
     
         13 . The resorbable polymeric mesh implant according to  claim 12 , wherein the implant further comprises a third material that is the last-degraded material. 
     
     
         14 . A method of using a resorbable polymeric mesh implant in the reconstruction of a soft tissue defect, comprising the step of providing a resorbable polymeric mesh implant, wherein the implant is a resorbable polymeric mesh implant according to  claim 1 . 
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 14 , wherein the soft tissue defect is an abdominal wall defect. 
     
     
         16 . The method according to  claim 15 , wherein the abdominal wall defect is a result from a hernia. 
     
     
         17 . The resorbable polymeric mesh implant according to  claim 1 , wherein the last-degraded material is substantially degraded at a point in time within a time range of 6-12 months following implantation. 
     
     
         18 . The resorbable polymeric mesh implant according to  claim 1 , wherein the last-degraded material has a knitted structure with a pore size of 1-3 mm.