Clinical use of injectable bovine collagen: A decade of experience

Abstract

Bovine collagen has long been recognized as a safe, highly biocompatible material. In 1981 and 1985, two injectable fibrillar suspensions of purified bovine dermal collagen, Zyderm® and Zyplast® collagen implant, were commercially launched in the USA for use in soft tissue contour irregularities. Since that time more than 750000 patients have been treated with Zyderm and/or Zyplast collagen implants internationally. Adverse reactions to bovine collagen implants occur in a small percentage of treated patients. The most prevalent adverse reaction is localized hypersensitivity at treatment sites, occurring in 3 % of skin tested patients and 1 to 2 % of the treated patients. These reactions resolve with time as the implant material is resorbed by the host. Circulating antibodies to bovine collagen can be demonstrated in the sera of a majority of patients (90–100%) with local hypersensitivity. These antibodies are specific for bovine collagen and do not cross react with human type I, II or III collagen. Although the presence of a humoral immune response to bovine collagen can be associated with localized symptoms of hypersensitivity, antibodies to bovine collagen can also be demonstrated in the absence of any clinical manifestation.