An estriol-eluting pessary to treat pelvic organ prolapse

Abstract

Pelvic organ prolapse affects up to 50% of parous women. Commonly used treatment options have unwelcome attributes; pessaries can cause erosion and estrogen creams need to be applied frequently, which is inconvenient and difficult to administer. This study involved the development of an estriol-releasing pessary utilising 3D printing molds. We incorporated varying amounts of estriol (1%, 10% and 15%) into the silicone pessary. We optimised the mechanical aspects of the pessary so it had a similar strength to commercially available pessaries. We investigated estriol release from the pessary over 3 months. We explored possible interactions between the drug and polymers via FTIR. The MED-4870 s..