Tissue reaction to Dacron® velour and titanium fibre mesh used for anchorage of percutaneous devices

Dacron® velour is often used to anchor a percutaneous device, like the catheter used in peritoneal dialysis. However, exit-site infections complicate this method of dialysis and are supposed to be related to the design of the catheter. In animal experiments, a percutaneous device provided with a titanium fibre mesh to anchor the implant was not affected by infectious complications. The purpose of this study was to compare the differences in soft tissue reaction to Dacron velour and titanium fibre mesh under the same experimental conditions. Therefore, we placed implants, provided with either Dacron or titanium mesh, subcutaneously in the dorsum of goats. The implants were left in situ for 4 months. Histological and histomorphological evaluations were performed. It was found that the soft tissue response inside the Dacron was mainly inflammatory, while the titanium mesh evoked good biocompatible behaviour. We concluded that the limited fibrous tissue ingrowth into the Dacron cuff has to be the reason for the observed high failure incidence of a percutaneous device.