PHOTOOXIDIZED BOVINE ARTERIAL GRAFTS - SHORT-TERM RESULTS

Biologic grafts are the conduit of choice for vascular reconstructive procedures. The short-term thrombogenicity, patency, and stability of bovine arterial grafts, altered by a dye-mediated photo-oxidation proc ess, was evaluated in the canine common femoral vein (CFV) and artery (CFA) model. Modified bovine interposition grafts were implanted in th e CFV of 12 dogs and in the CFA of 11 dogs, respectively. Polytetraflu oroethylene (PTFE) implants on the contralateral side served as contro ls. Patency and histology were assessed at 1, 2, 4, and 6 weeks. In th e CFV, patency of photo-oxidized grafts was 83% at 1 week and 71% at 2 weeks, compared to 17% and 0% for PTFE, respectively (p = 0.0033). In CFA, patency was 82% for the photo-oxidized graft and 63% for PTFE at 6 weeks (p = NS). Photo-oxidized grafts were nonreactive, without evi dence of degenerative changes or cellular infiltration at all time per iods. Compared to commercially available PTFE, photo-oxidized arterial grafts have superior patency in the CFV, and comparable patency in th e CFA. Preliminary results demonstrate that these xenografts are stabl e and without degenerative changes. If corroborated by long-term data, these grafts may be a suitable alternative to currently available pro sthetics for peripheral vascular reconstructive procedures.