GRANULOMAS DUE TO "ALPARENE No. 2" USED IN INJECTION TREATMENT OF HERNIA

Abstract

Unfavorable tissue reactions to "alparene no. 2" used in the injection treatment of hernias in ambulatory patients have thus far not been reported. In recent months, my attention has been directed to nodular masses that developed at sites of injection of this substance in four patients. "Alparene no. 2," according to advertisements distributed, consists of calcium fluoride and silicon dioxide marketed in the form of a "near-colloidal" suspension containing 2.5 gm. of each per 30 cc. of suspension.¹ This suspension is intended to produce contracted cicatricial tissue wherever injected and utilizes the principle of the combined presence of fluoride (not in a free form) and finely divided silica particles. REPORT OF CASES Case 1.— A 73-year-old white man was admitted to the hospital on March 5, 1951. For about 20 years previously, he had had gradually enlarging bilateral inguinal hernias. Because of the persistent discomfort, a series of 14 injections