Viable prosthetic interface

The ability to produce a viable bond at the interface of living tissue and inert polymeric materials has been tested in three different contaminated environments. The prosthetic implants, consisting of nylon 66 velour and polyurethane, were tested in the intestinal wall of rabbits, the urinary bladder of dogs, and the skin of rats. The small (1.5 × 2.0 cm) velour implants had a tendency to slough in the intestinal wall while a tubular prosthesis (6 × 3 cm) and a large patch (4.5 × 3.0 cm) were of varying success. Utilization of the prosthesis to replace 25% of the urinary bladder wall was successful for as long as 7 months, at which time postmortem examination of the animals revealed no anastomotic leaks or calculi formation. Replacement of 20 or 40% of the rats burned and infected skin resulted in less than a 10% mortality. Furthermore, histologic studies of all successful prostheses revealed a prompt enmeshing of the velour filaments with fibrin followed at 3‐4 days with an ingrowth of fibroblasts, capillaries, and a few foreign body giant cells. Maturation of the wound resulted in a dense, mature collagen matrix. Removal of the prosthesis at this time occurred only by the disruption of the sub‐prosthetic tissue.