DEVELOPMENT OF IMPROVED SMOOTH AND TEXTURED MAMMARY PROSTHESES COATED WITH HIGHLY BIOCOMPATIBLE MATERIALS

摘要

The present invention concerns the development of a mammary implant having a shell and a filler. The shell can be formed of any thermoplastic elastomer having good impermeability or a mixture thereof with silicone elastomers. In a preferred embodiment the shell is obtained using a fluorinated thermoplastic elastomer of the ABA type, wherein A is 1, 1-difluoroethylene and B is a difluoroethylene/perfluoromethylvinylether/tetrafluoroethylene terpolymer. In order to texturise the shell, the base polymer can be mixed with a biodegradable or bioresorbable polymer. A second mean for texturising the shell is the use of a hydrosoluble polymer in combination with the base material from which the shell is obtained. Among the biodegradable polymers, block copolymers of polyethylene glycol with lactic and/or glycolic acid or with epsilon-caprolactone were considered. Biocompatible hydrogel were used as filling materials. In a preferred embodiments gellan hydrogel was used as a filler. Among the synthetic hydrogels usable as fillers, poly(vinyl alcohol) was considered. In another embodiment, a mixture of PNIPAAM/ alginate/ gelatin was used as a filler. Pyrolitic carbon coatings were applied to the shell in order to increase the biocompatibility thereof.