Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Clinical experience with the medpor porous polyethylene implant

  • Published:
Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The Medpor porous polyethylene implant is a highly stable and somewhat flexible porous alloplast that has been shown to exhibit rapid tissue ingrowth into its pores. A total of 116 Medpor implants were placed in 70 patients over a four-year period. Implants were used for the chin, malar area, nasal reconstruction, ear reconstruction, orbital reconstruction, and the correction of craniofacial contour deformities. Many of these implants were placed in areas long considered problematic such as areas of thin soft tissue coverage, extensive scarring, and severe facial burns. Nine complications occurred including seven exposures, all of which occurred in areas of minimal soft tissue coverage. Because of the rapid vascularization of the implants, only two implants were removed, both from the columella. On the basis of our results, it is felt that the Medpor implant is an excellent alternative to existing implant materials. The implant is easy to shape; it is strong yet somewhat flexible; it is remarkably stable; and it exhibits tissue ingrowth into its pores.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Berghaus A: Porous polyethylene in reconstructive head and neck surgery. Arch Otolaryngol 111:154, 1985

    Google Scholar 

  2. Berghaus A, Mulch G, Handrock M: Porous polyethylene and Proplast: Their behavior in a bony implant bed. Arch Otorhinolaryngol 240:115, 1984

    Google Scholar 

  3. Bikhazi HB, Van Antwerp R: The use of Medpor in cosmetic and reconstructive surgery: experimental and clinical evidence. In: Stucker S (ed): Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery of the Head and Neck. St. Louis: C.V. Mosby, 1990, p 271

    Google Scholar 

  4. Bosse JP: Clinical experience with the Medpor implant. Presented at the Canadian Society of Plastic Surgeons 46th Annual Meeting, London, Ontario, Canada, May 30, 1992

  5. Dougherty W, Wellisz T: The fate of porous high density polyethylene implants placed adjacent to an open facial sinus. Presented at the Canadian Society of Plastic Surgeons 45th Annual Meeting, Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, June 27, 1991

  6. Eriksson C: Surface energies and the bone induction principle. J Biomed Mater Res 19:833, 1985

    Google Scholar 

  7. Flowers RS: Alloplastic augmentation of the anterior mandible. Clin Plast Surg 18:107, 1991

    Google Scholar 

  8. Friedland J, Coccaro P, Converse J: Retrospective cephalometric analysis of mandibular bone absorption under silicone rubber chin implants. Plast Reconstr Surg 57:144, 1976

    Google Scholar 

  9. Hamra ST: The deep-plane rhytidectomy. Plast Reconstr Surg 86:53, 1990

    Google Scholar 

  10. Holmes RE: Bone regeneration with a coralline hydroxyapatite implant. Plast Reconstr Surg 63:626, 1979

    Google Scholar 

  11. Holmes RE, Hagler HK: Porous hydroxyapatite as a bone graft substitute in cranial reconstruction: a histometric study. Plast Reconstr Surg 81:662, 1988

    Google Scholar 

  12. Homsey CA: Bio-compatibility in selection of materials for implantation. J Biomed Mater Res 4:341, 1970

    Google Scholar 

  13. Klawitter JJ, Bagwell JG, Weinstein AM, Sauer BW, Pruitt JR: An evaluation of bone growth into porous high density polyethylene. J Biomed Mat Res 10:311, 1976

    Google Scholar 

  14. Lilla JA, Vistnes L, Jobe RP: The long term effects of hard alloplastic implants when put on bone. Plast Reconstr Surg 59:14, 1976

    Google Scholar 

  15. Psillakis JM, Rumley TO, Camargos A: Subperiosteal approach as an improved concept for correction of the ageing face. Plast Reconstr Surg 82:383, 1988

    Google Scholar 

  16. Ramirez OM, Maillard GF, Musolas A: The extended subperiosteal face lift: a definitive soft-tissue remodeling for facial rejuvenation. Plast Reconstr Surg 88:227, 1991

    Google Scholar 

  17. Rees TD: Physical considerations for aesthetic surgery of the neck and face. In: Rees TD (ed): Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders, 1980, p 587

    Google Scholar 

  18. Romano JJ, Iliff NT, Manson PN: Use of Medpor porous polyethylene implants in 140 patients with facial fractures. J Craniofac Surg 4:142, 1993

    Google Scholar 

  19. Rubin LR: Polyethylene as a bone and cartilage substitute: a 32-year retrospective. In: Rubin LR (ed): Biomaterials in Plastic Surgery. St. Louis: C.V. Mosby, 1983, p 477

    Google Scholar 

  20. Salyer KE, Hall, CD: Porous hydroxyapatite as an onlay bone-graft substitute for maxillofacial surgery. Plast Reconstr Surg 84:236, 1989

    Google Scholar 

  21. Shanbhag A, Friedman HI, Augustine J, Von Recum AF: Evaluation of porous polyethylene for external ear reconstruction. Ann Plast Surg 24:32, 1990

    Google Scholar 

  22. Spector M, Harmon SL, Kreutner A: Characteristics of tissue growth into Proplast and porous polyethylene implants in bone. J Biomed Mat Res 13:677, 1979

    Google Scholar 

  23. Wellisz T: Reconstruction of the burned external ear using a Medpor porous polyethylene pivoting helix framework. Plast Reconstr Surg 91:811, 1993

    Google Scholar 

  24. Wellisz T, Dougherty W: The role of alloplastic skeletal modification in the reconstruction of facial burns. Ann Plast Surg 30:531, 1993

    Google Scholar 

  25. Wellisz T, Dougherty W, Gross J: Craniofacial applications for the Medpor porous polyethylene flexblock implant. J Craniofac Surg 3:101, 1992

    Google Scholar 

  26. Wolfe SA, Berkowitz S: Plastic Surgery of the Facial Skeleton. Boston: Little, Brown, 1989, p 687

    Google Scholar 

  27. Yaremchuk MJ: Changing concepts in the management of secondary orbital deformities. Clin Plast Surg 19:113, 1992

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Rancho Los Amigos Medical Center, 7601 East Imperial Highway, 90242, Downey, CA, USA

    Tadeusz Wellisz M.D.

Authors
  1. Tadeusz Wellisz M.D.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wellisz, T. Clinical experience with the medpor porous polyethylene implant. Aesth. Plast. Surg. 17, 339–344 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00437109

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00437109

Key words

Search

Navigation