[Polymer fibers in surgery. III]

Polyester fibres were started to be used as synthetic polymer material in the mid-1950's. In comparison with polyamides they have a greater chemical and biological durability. Their elasticity, resistance to weather, abrasive strength, low susceptibility to sorption, distortion strength, no toxicity, resistance to heat treatment in sterilization, moderate capillarity, gave the polyesters their present wide usability in various fields of surgery. Polyester fibres most frequently used are: ethyl terephthalate, lawsan, dacron, terylene, elana, torlene, terytal, tetron, etc. They are used as surgical threads, knitted and weaved fabric, vascular prostheses, tendons, ligaments and bands in hernia plastic operation, in reconstruction of abdomen wall and chest and in diaphragm prosthetics. In most cases the grafts had a high mechanical and physical resistance, were biologically immune, and healed well. Polyester fibres can be modified in order to increase the durability of their anastomosis with organic tissues and to give them long gemicidal activity. The main factors which cause the fibre decomposition are the processes of hydrolysis, oxidation, and enzymatic deconstruction. In many reports knitted and gauze fabric were said to be superior to the knitted ones. It was found that by use of polyester vascular prostheses good results can be obtained in implanting them to the aorta and its branches, while in implanting into small and medium blood vessels thrombi form. On the basis of macrokinetic parameters of lavsan prostheses destruction in the organism a method for predicting the length of the exploatation properties loss of the polymer were proposed. The results were mostly convergent with the experimental ones.