ASSESSMENT IN RATS OF A NEW BIOERODIBLE BONE-WAX-LIKE POLYMER

Holes drilled in rats' skull, iliac crest, and tibia were filled with beeswax or with a new, wax-like, bioerodible polyorthoester (Alzamer(R )). Empty drill-holes served as controls. In addition, beeswax and pol yorthoester were deposited between the left and the right oblique abdo minal muscles, respectively. In muscle, both the beeswax and polyortho ester elicited a transient foreign body reaction. The beeswax was not resorbed in bone or muscle, whereas the polyorthoester was. Bone heali ng was inhibited in the iliac crest and the tibiae filled with beeswax , whereas holes filled with polyorthoester healed readily.