POLYETHYLENE, A NEW SYNTHETIC PLASTIC FOR USE IN SURGERY

Abstract

The synthetic plastics industry has contributed a large number of materials that have been used in making diagnostic and therapeutic instruments. The number of synthetic plastics that can be buried safely within human tissues, however, is surprisingly small. Methyl methacrylate (lucite, plexiglas, perspex) and nylon have been found, after extensive animal experimentation and clinical use, to be well tolerated by tissues.1Methyl methacrylate is a hard, transparent plastic suitable for cranioplasty, dentures, soft tissue prostheses in plastic surgery, rigid tubes and other uses not requiring pliability. Nylon is well known as a suture material. Many other plastics have been used sporadically in clinical surgical practice but discarded for various reasons. There is need for a synthetic plastic material of pure composition, well tolerated by tissues, which can be made into flexible tubes and thin, pliable sheets. A relatively new plastic material, polyethylene1a( polythene), has been found to fill