The Gore-Tex peritoneal catheter: a clinical evaluation and comparison with the Tenckhoff catheter

In January of 1983, the Gore-Tex (W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc, Flagstaff, Ariz) peritoneal catheter was introduced into the dialysis market. Presently, there is no other peritoneal catheter that offers this unique subcutaneous tunnel design. This catheter has an external and intra-abdominal Silastic (Dow Corning, Midland, Mich) segment and a transcutaneous segment with a flange and cuff of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). This catheter was designed to decrease the incidence of tunnel infections, catheter cuff extrusions, and exit site infections. The clinical experience with 57 Gore-Tex catheters and 47 Tenckhoff catheters at Ohio State University from May 1980 through April 1983 is presented. In addition, the Gore-Tex catheter's surgical insertion technique and postoperative care procedures are described. There was a significant decrease in the incidence of tunnel infections with the Gore-Tex catheter versus the Tenckhoff catheter (0.03 versus 0.21 infections per patient-year, respectively; P less than .05). There was no significant difference between the Gore-Tex catheter and the Tenckhoff catheter with regard to the patient peritonitis rate (1.12 versus 1.38 episodes of peritonitis per patient-year, respectively) or the exit site infection rate (0.65 versus 0.50 infections per patient-year, respectively). There were no cuff extrusions with the Gore-Tex catheter. The decrease in the incidence of tunnel infections with the Gore-Tex catheter suggests that the PTFE barrier inhibits longitudinal bacterial movement and avoids bacterial sequestration. Patients with repeat tunnel infections may benefit from a Gore-Tex catheter placement.