The foreign body reaction

The foreign body reaction is examined as a continuation of a normal inflammatory response. A brief discussion is presented of some of the problems and artifacts inherent in the testing of soft tissue reactions to artificial implants. The process of inflammation and wound healing in presented. The various factors affecting the foreign body reaction (chemical, mechanical, geometrical, and others) are discussed. The cellular components of the foreign body reaction are described and the sequential cellular changes that occur as a result of implanting an artificial device are examined. A comprehensive protocol is presented for the in vivo evaluation of soft tissue foreign body reaction to surgical implants. A number of methods of evaluation and quantitation of the tissue reaction to implants are presented and discussed. A strong plea is made for semi-quantitation of tissue reactions, rather than relying of subjective, qualitative methods