Method of forming a hollow prosthesis

Abstract

The method of the present invention creates a hollow plastic prosthesis using the following steps. First, a mold of the prosthetic article is created and the mold is injected with room temperature vulcanizable plastic. The mold containing the RTV plastic is maintained at a fixed temperature for a sufficient period of time for the outer most portions of the RTV plastic to form a vulcanized layer in proximity to the inner surface of the mold. The RTV plastic article is then removed from the mold and the remaining unvulcanized plastic is expressed from the interior. The opening is then sealed and the entire article is allowed to completely cure. The prosthetic article thus created is a one piece seamless article conforming substantially to the shape of the mold. The article is hollow and contains no openings communicating with the exterior so that the article retains flexibility and furthermore has the property of being compressible while retaining the ability to return to its original shape once pressure has been moved.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.