PURPOSE: It is to compare tissue reactions of the expanded polytetrafluoroethyele (E-PTFE) implantation and the tissue reaction of the bovine pericardium implants. METHODS: Twenty male rats were divided into two equal groups: 7 and 30 days. A disc-shaped specimen of test material was introduced into each animal's paraspinal region. The material and the tissue were resected 7 and 30 days after the introduction, for morphometric analysis. The Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon tests were applied for statistical analysis of the results. RESULTS: E-PTFE demonstrated a significant increase in the number of fibroblast at 30 days. A significant drop was noted in the number of neutrophils, lymphocytes and porcentage of capilaries within the time periods. Bovine pericadium displayed a strinking drop in the number of fibroblasts. When the same periods were compared, the number of fibrolasts was greater in the E-PTFE at 30 days. The number of plasmocytes and lymphocytes was greater at 30 days compared to bovine pericardium. CONCLUSION: The inflammatory response was minor and less persistant over time in the E-PTFE; repair using the synthetic material was speedier and it did not produce a foreign body reaction.
Pericardial; Politetrafluoroetilen; Biocompatible materials; Bioprothesis; Inflamation
