Surgical Innovation Associates, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, won FDA clearance for its DuraSorb Monofilament Mesh. The bioabsorbable surgical mesh is designed for use in reconstructive and cosmetic surgeries, providing structural support for about a year, eventually being absorbed by the body and disappearing from the surgical site to be replaced by native tissue.
“The idea of a mesh that is there when you need it and gone when you don’t is appealing, for much the same reason that absorbable sutures have become a key part of a surgeon’s armamentarium – tissue support from a foreign material is crucial during healing, but at some point thereafter may become a liability,” in a published statement said Dr. John Kim, inventor of the device and Professor of Plastic Surgery at Northwestern University. “This technology was developed in direct response to unmet clinical needs in our field.”
Before the appearance of bioabsorbable technologies, surgeons either had to use permanent meshes that came with long term complications, or human-derived products that are really expensive and are not very effective in many cases.