Intracordal Polytef (Teflon) Injection: Histologic Study of Three Further Cases

Abstract

A growing number of autopsy studies on larynges injected with polytef (Teflon) paste in the form of PTFE Paste for Injection show the tissue reaction in relation to time. We are reporting on two additional human larynges and an excised granuloma. The tissue reaction represents a benign foreign-body reaction with variable though progressive encapsulation. The degree of reaction also appears to be variable, ranging from minimal and bland to marked and florid. An undesirable side effect was observed in one larynx studied post mortem and in a clinical case; ie, the cricothyroid space was invaded and part of the injected polytef had extruded over the cricothyroid muscle. This complication required excision of a small granuloma in the surviving patient without other ill effects.