Glutaraldehyde-treated autogenous skin as a substitute for elastic cartilage: an experimental study

In an experimental study in rats, a piece of dorsal skin was removed, molded, and tanned in glutaraldehyde. After rinsing in saline, the piece of skin was tested for extensibility and implanted under the dorsal skin of the same rat. It was removed after 1 to 12 weeks and its extensibility was again measured. Specimens were examined under the light and electron microscopes. None of the 63 implants extruded and at 12 weeks a thin, densely adherent fibrous capsule had formed. Light and electron microscopy revealed early inflammatory changes that later subsided. The implant maintained or increased its stiffness. The weight of the implant remained constant.