Fig. 5.

Smooth muscle thinning with mesh implantation. Cross-sectional images of the rabbit vagina stained with Masson’s trichrome staining depicting: a a vagina in which no mesh was implanted, b a mesh with no wrinkle and c a mesh wrinkle in which the mesh fibers (black circles) erode toward the lumen (dotted white line) of the vagina (characteristic of a mesh exposure). Overall, thinning of the muscularis (smooth muscle) layer was observed in the mesh-implanted rabbit vagina relative to sham. Note: For esthetics, only a few mesh fibers are outlined in b and c.