Extracellular matrices for gastrointestinal surgery: Ex vivo testing and current applications

Table 1 Extracellular matrix degradation ultrastructural grading system

Characteristic	Resistance→Degradation
	Score 0	Score 1	Score 2	Score 3
Porosity	No change	Light increase	Distinct increase	Strong increase
Surface fibrillar arrangement	No change	Light alteration	Distinct alteration	Native arrangement not recognizable
Erosion of matrix surface	No change	Light surface erosion	Distinct surface erosion	Native surface structure not recognizable

Original materials incubated for 60 min in phosphate buffered saline were used as reference.