Fat- and bone marrow-impregnated small diameter PTFE grafts

Objectives: to evaluate an alternative and simple technique which consists in impregnation of a synthetic prosthesis with either autogenic omental fat or bone marrow. These tissues have been selected based on previous works a nd because they contain multiple cellular and extracellular compounds with biological healing properties (i.e. angiogenesis, endothelialisation, etc.) . Design: PTFE grafts of Group 1 were impregnated with fatty tissue, those of Group 2 with bone marrow and those of Group 3 served as controls. Materials: nine mongrel dogs divided among these three groups. PTFE grafts are 3 mm in diameter. Methods: in each animal, both iliac arteries were submitted to an end-to-si de ilio-iliac bypass. At 3 months, pathology assessment was performed. Results: group 1: all grafts were thrombosed and intimal hyperplasia was fo und occluding the anastomotic sites. Group 2: 4/6 grafts were patent and th eir mid-portion presented a thin neointima which did not totally cover the anastomotic sites. Group 3: 2/5 grafts were patent and their mid-portion as well as the anastomotic sites were covered with neointima which tons hyper plastic in some areas. Conclusions: addition of bone marrow cells may contribute to improve the qu ality of the healing process.