Calcification on the Surface of Silicone Nasal Implants: Regional Properties of Calcification Deposits

Lee, Min Jae; Kim, Hyun Ji; Han, Ki Hwan; Kim, Jun Hyung; Son, Dae Gu

Abstract

The silicone rubber implants are widely used in plastic surgery because of various advantages; however, calcification in surface of implant(as a chemical resistance) may transform or destroy the high molecular biomaterial when it stays too long within the human body. The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between calcification and the histological disparities of the tissues surrounding the area adjoining the silicone nasal implant by examining the regional characteristics of calcium deposits in the silicone nasal implant via elemental analyses using EDX(energy-dispersive X-ray analysis) and ultrastructural analyses using SEM(scanning electron microscopy). The subjects of the study were 19 silicone nasal implants removed by revision rhinoplasty, all displaying calcification. According to the tissue characters, the implant surface was divided into 4 zones with the rhinion as the basis. For each zone, elemental and ultrastructural analyses were performed. Elemental analysis revealed that the calcium deposits consisted of Ca and P only. There were no statistically significant disparities among the ratios between Ca and P according to the zones. Ultrastructural analysis showed acellular mineral-like deposits coalesced to create amorphous deposits in all zones; however, in zones 1 and 3(more pressurized zones by periosteum or nasal bone), additional flaky cylinder-shaped calcium deposits were detected. Thus, it seems that the histological disparities in the surrounding tissues do not affect the components and their proportions in the calcification process. However, it can be inferred that the physical environment due to the histological disparities in the surrounding tissues affects the ultrastructures of calcium deposits.