Polyurethane foreign body reaction

In medical practice, polyurethane is used in implants. Complications of polyurethane implants are not uncommon, mainly due to foreign-body reactions (1), such as with microporous polyurethane (Mitrathane) cardiac patch implants and with breast implants. 

Biocompatibility and Mechanical Properties. Currently, their are no suitable artificial materials for the prosthetic replacement of articular cartilage. The biocompatibility is considered the primary criterion in the selection of such a material. In a recent study, Furst and co-workers(10) compared the biocompatibility of the polyurethane to the well known medical grade silicone polymer. The tissue reactions to small polymer discs, inserted in an articulating space—the suprapatellar bursa of rabbits, was examined. The foreign body reaction of the tissue at the implantation site was evaluated at intervals of 7 days,... 

E.M. Christenson, M. Dadsetan, A. Hiltner, Biostabihty and macrophage-mediated foreign body reaction of silicone-modified polyurethanes, J. Biomed. Mater. Res. A 74 (2) (2005) 141-155. 

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