Medical Elastomers And Latex

Silicone Rubber in Medical Application

Mr. Manan Shah, Rubber Technologist

Silicone is the elastomer of choice for most medical device manufacturers because of it’s unique performance characteristics; the combination of which cannot be achieved by any other elastomer product. Truly a strong but worthy claim!

WHAT is Silicone Rubber ?

Silicone elastomers are based on a unique chemistry developed in the early 1960’s. Basically, a strong alternating silicon and oxygen atom backbone in the silicone molecule is responsible for many of its inherent properties. Different functional groups are chemically linked to the silicon atom to modify its behavior for performance in chemical, drug, reagent or specific media resistance. Silicone elastomers are simply very long chains of silicone molecules, called polymers, chemically bonded together to achieve specific property profiles.

Life saving applications of Silicone Rubber

• In implant able life-saving devices – An Electric heart pacers-Many thousands of people are alive today or live more comfortable due to artificial pacemakers which use electrical impulses to make the heart operate.

• In heart valves- as a replacement for badly disease damaged or congenitally defective heart valves

• Hydrocephalus shunts - for persons afflicted with hydrocephalus (water – on – the - brain) utilize silicone rubber tubing.

• An artificial ureter of Silicone rubber

Silicone Rubber implants in the field of plastics and reconstructive surgery :

Advantages of Silicone Rubber Implant Materials :

1. Impervious to the action of the human organism

2. Consistency can be varied from the softness of the female breast through the consistency of various tones of muscle to the hardness of cartilage.

The plastic surgeon today is able to solve almost any augmentation problem with silicone rubber.

• Most popular of Silicone rubber implants is the mammary Implant.

• Silicone rubbers is available in preformed shapes or in blocks which can be carved to the desired shape for the reconstruction or augmentation of : Ears, Noses, Chins, Cheeks.

• Silicone rubber orbital plates for repair of blowout fractures of the orbital floor.

• Silicone rubber finger joints reinforced with polyester fabric are responsible for the restoration of many thousands of hands disfigured and made practically useless by the crippling of arthritis.

Continue..