Finite Element Modeling in Female Pelvic Floor Medicine: a Literature Review

Abstract
Female pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) includes conditions such as urinary incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, or fecal incontinence. One in every ten women will, at some point of their lives, suffer a form of PFD so severe that it will require surgery, with one third of these undergoing repeated surgical procedures. PFD occurs due to damage to levator ani muscle (LAM), endopelvic fascia, and nerves organized as a complex load-bearing apparatus in the pelvis. Our ability to understand treatment failure and prevention strategies necessitates an understanding of these tissue elements and their structural and functional interactions. Biomechanical engineering is a discipline that studies and analyzes structure-function relationships. Geometric and finite element modeling are tools that have been widely used by biomechanical engineers to computationally simulate vaginal delivery and pelvic floor function and dysfunction. The aim of this review was to discuss the role of computational modeling in female pelvic floor medicine.

Source: Current Obstetrics and Gynecology Reports - April 1, 2015 Category: OBGYN Source Type: research