"Thread seal tape" (polytetrafluoroethylene) implanted in the subcutaneous tissue of rats

"Thread seal tape" (Polytetrafluoroethylene [PTFE]) was placed in the dorsum of 20 rats for evaluation of the inflammatory reaction to it. The rats were killed 7, 14, 28, and 60 days after the surgical intervention, and the implant samples, together with adjacent tissues, were removed for histologic analysis. At clinical examination, the dorsum of the rat's skin presented no local inflammatory reaction. The histologic analysis showed decreasing inflammatory reaction with time that was almost absent 60 days after surgery. The authors concluded that the "thread seal tape" (PTFE) did not cause an inflammatory reaction when implanted in the subcutaneous tissue of rats.