Clinical Experience with Expanded Polytetrafluoroethylene Gore-Tex® Surgical Membrane for Pericardial Closure: A Study of 110 Cases

Abstract

Complete closure of the pericardium after cardiac operations has the advantage of avoiding injury of the heart and great vessels during reoperation. Between 1985 and 1987, the pericardium was closed with Gore-Tex Surgical Membrane (SM) in a selected series of 110 patients 1 month to 76 years of age. Fifty-three patients had congenital heart lesions and 57 patients had acquired heart disease. Overall hospital mortality was 3/110 cases. In no instance was there a relationship between occurrence of death and pericardial closure with SM. There was one episode of cardiac tamponade on the seventh postoperative day. One patient developed fever and leukocytosis due to a mediastinal hematoma. During a mean follow-up of 15 months, four patients had to be reoperated upon three, four, eight weeks, and eight months after primary operation. The anterior wall of the heart had no adhesion with the SM and the other parts of pericardium could be dissected easily. Scanning electron microscopic examination of the explanted SM patches showed neither cellular ingrowth nor immunocompetent cellular elements. The Gore-Tex Surgical Membrane has the advantages of easy availability and lack of reaction between its surface and the epicardium and pericardium. We believe its routine use should be encouraged in patients with high probability of reoperation after repair of complex cardiac anomalies, implantation of bioprostheses, coronary revascularization for one- or two-vessel disease, and repair of degenerative disease of the ascending aorta.

E-PTFE (Gore-Tex®) implant with or without low-dosage mitomycin-C as an adjuvant in penetrating glaucoma surgery: 2 year randomized clinical trial

“…Eyes in the TG and TGMMC groups showed no adverse reaction to the material; neither inflammation nor extrusion nor conjuctival erosion were noted. Progressive discolouration with disappearance of the membrane, as already reported in cardiosurgical practice, was present in all cases (Minale et al 1988).…”

“…PRECLUDE Ò pericardial membrane is a white, opaque material, but after implantation the material becomes wet with proteinaceous, aqueous fluids and turns translucent. This is because of its microporous nature and the thinness of the material; this usually occurs within 2-6 weeks (Minale et al 1988;Leprince et al 2001).…”

New quantitative variables to measure postoperative pericardial adhesions: useful tools in experimental research

“…Autologous 24 and heterologous pericardium, 25 anti-inflammatory 5 and fibrinolytic drugs, 26 synthetic 27,28 and biopolymers 8 are examples of therapies employed in these researches. But even with a large number of studies, none of them developed an alternative to improve the problems related to the way in which adhesions are measured.…”

E-PTFE Membran für die Behandlung von perforiertem Hornhautulkus

“…Dieses nicht resorbierbare Material zeichnet sich durch seine Mikroporosität, Wasserdichtigkeit bei niedrigem Druck, Gas-und Wasserdampfdurchlässigkeit und minimale Gewebeadhäsionen bei den rekonstruktiven Verfahren aus. Die Nützlichkeit von e-PTFE als Ersatzstoff und seine minimierte Gewebeadhäsion wurden durch experimentelle Untersuchungen und klinische Studien belegt [12,35]. Die hydrophobe Eigenschaft von e-PTFE ermöglicht, dass das Wundgebiet postoperativ nicht an dem umliegenden Gewebe haftet.…”