Polytetrafluroethy
) -Polytetrafluroethylene fiber ( PTFE) Teflon
Polytetrafluroethylene is non reactive synthetic material that has been proven safe for long, term human implantation ,(75) where the uses of Teflon for heart prostheses was first described by klinner and colleagues in 1962, where they used Teflon tube in pulmonary artery .(76) In 1974 Gazzaniqa and co- workers introduced a new technique for aorta pulmonary shunting in infancy by using expanded PTFE, where it was utilized to create a shunt between the aorta and the pulmonary trunk or main pulmonary branch arteries .(77) First attempt for the coarctation of aortic discontinuity in interrupted aortic arch using an expanded PTFE graft was made in September 1977 . PTEF consists of long chain carbon molecules in which all available bonds are saturated by fluorine . Teflon is heavy , dark brown in color , and it is not flammable but melts at high temperatures .(78) Teflon has excellent chemical and solvent resistance , excellent electrical characteristics ,very low friction coefficients with slippery handle , no moisture and almost no dyeability .Teflon is also non-toxic, high compatibility with the blood soft and very flexible .(79) Teflon fluorocarbon polymer is also made in a thin micro-porous membrane , this membrane with very tiny opening or pores is used in making Gore-tex fabrics which has wide use in operating –room apparel .(3) The uses of teflon are largely in industrial textiles where its properties enabled fibers to be used as artificial arteries and arteriovenous shunts as well as a tip material for shunt where prostheses made from micro- porous Polytetrafluroethylene such as Gore-tex . Soft tissue patch or macro-porous mesh made of PTFE, exhibited a low significant rate of infection when used for abdominal wall reconstruction.(23)
