Application experience of bioresorbable implants in correcting the volume of the pleural cavity and their biocompatibility assessment

Abstract

Objective: To substantiate experimentally the possibility of using bioresorbable biopolymer pleural implants made of polylactide and polycaprolactone (PLA/PCL) to correct the volume of the chest. Materials and methods. Rabbits were used as experimental animals — mature females of the Chinchilla breed, age 1–1.5 years, weight 3500–4300 g. The number of individuals were 5. For studying changes in implants and local tissue reactions in vivo, as close as possible to clinical conditions, the method of intrapleural implantation was used. Bioresorbable highly porous samples based on polylactide and polycaprolactone (PLA/PCL) with different polymer ratios and porosity degrees were used as implants. The implant and local tissue reactions were evaluated over five implantation periods: 7, 21, 54, 66 and 78 weeks. Results. The study of morphology in implants during a long experiment showed good biocompatibility, which was confirmed by the absence of necrosis in implants and surrounding tissues. In the first and second implantation periods minimal reactive changes were detected in the adjacent soft tissues (lung, pleura, soft tissues of the chest wall), existing as a focal fibrosis of muscle fibers, focal mononuclear infiltration of fibrous tissue. Conclusion: As a result of studying morphological changes in the implant and adjacent tissues of the chest wall, the absence of necrosis and purulent-inflammatory changes both in the implant itself and in the surrounding tissues of the chest wall and lung was confirmed. It has been proven that a highly porous pleural implant based on polylactide and polycaprolactone is a safe and promising material for correcting the volume of the chest, which can be in demand both in general thoracic surgery and for the surgical treatment of patients with advanced pulmonary tuberculosis.