MICROVASCULAR VEIN-GRAFT PATENCY IN THE RAT MODEL

This study establishes a controlled model, to examine the patency rate s of simple, arterial and venous anastomoses, compared to vessel repai rs performed with 10-mm, size-matched, interpositional, vein grafts in the Tat femoral artery and vein. Patency rates in two control groups, consisting of 68 Sprague-Dawley rats in which simple, femoral-vessel repairs were performed, were compared to three experimental groups, co nsisting of 94 animals in which the femoral vessels were repaired with interpositional vein grafts. No statistically significant difference was found in the patency rates of arterial (p = 0.487) or venous repai rs (p = 0.472) in the control groups. Nor was a significant difference found in arterial vein-graft patency (p = 0.560) or venous vein-graft patency (p = 0.862), when compared to the control groups. This study illustrates that, in the controlled laboratory setting, 10-mm, size-ma tched, interpositional, vein grafts have statistically the same patenc y rates as simple repairs of the rat femoral artery and vein.