TITANIUM FIBER MESH ANCHORAGE FOR PERCUTANEOUS DEVICES APPLICABLE FORPERITONEAL-DIALYSIS

In previous experiments a new type of percutaneous device for implanta tion in soft tissue was designed. The subcutaneous component of the ne w device consists of a sintered titanium fiber web. The percutaneous d evices are inserted by a so-called ''two-phase'' surgical technique wi th an intervening healing period of 3 months between the insertion of the subcutaneous flange and the placement of the percutaneous part. Fr om a clinical point of view, this time interval is too long. Therefore , the aim of this study was to investigate a possible reduction of the intervening healing period. The implants were inserted in the backs o f 18 rabbits. In each rabbit, six implants were placed with intervals of 1 week. Consequently, at the end of the experiment, in each rabbit six implants were present with implantation periods ranging from 5-10 weeks. After 10 weeks, the animals were sacrificed and the implants wi th their surrounding tissues were processed histologically. Light micr oscopic and histomorphometric analysis demonstrated that there was no difference in tissue response between the various implantation periods . Furthermore, it was found that the fiber mesh material showed good b iocompatible behavior. In conclusion, the experiment has demonstrated that for titanium mesh percutaneous devices a 5-week healing period is sufficient between the installation of the subcutaneous and percutane ous parts. (C) 1994 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.