Ycgj. Paquay et al., WOUND-HEALING PHENOMENA IN TITANIUM FIBER MESH - THE INFLUENCE OF THELENGTH OF IMPLANTATION, Biomaterials, 18(2), 1997, pp. 161-166
In previous experiments a new type of percutaneous device for implanta
tion in soft tissue was designed, containing a sintered titanium fibre
mesh. The devices are inserted by a so-called 'two-phase' surgical te
chnique with an intervening healing period of 3 months between inserti
on of the subcutaneous and percutaneous parts. From a clinical point o
f view, this time interval is too long. The aim of this study was to i
nvestigate whether it was possible to reduce the intervening healing p
eriod. The implants were inserted in the backs of nine goats. In each
goat, six implants were placed with intervals of 1 week. Consequently,
at the end of the experiment, in each goat six implants were present
with implantation periods ranging from 1 to 6 weeks. After 6 weeks, th
e animals were killed and the implants with surrounding tissue were pr
ocessed histologically. Analysis demonstrated that during the first 2
weeks an inflammatory response was present. Thereafter, no difference
in tissue response was found between the various implantation periods.
In conclusion, the experiment suggests that for titanium mesh percuta
neous devices a 3-week healing period is sufficient between the instal
lation of the subcutaneous and percutaneous parts. (C) 1996 Elsevier S
cience Limited.