ARTERIAL AND VENOUS REPAIR WITH VASCULAR CLIPS - COMPARISON WITH SUTURE CLOSURE

Purpose: Nonpenetrating, arcuate-legged titanium vascular closure stap le (VCS) clips were initially developed for microvascular anastomoses with little experience of their use in larger vessels. The purpose of this study was to compare the VCS clips with standard suture closure o f arteriotomies and venotomies in common iliac vessels of pigs. Method s: In nine pigs, longitudinal 1 cm iliac arterial and venous incisions were repaired with VCS clips on one side and continuous 6-0 polypropy lene suture on the other, and the macroscopic and microscopic results were assessed after 3 months. Results: The time required for vessel re pair was significantly shorter with clips than with sutures both in ar teries (51 +/- 9 vs 414 +/- 36 seconds) and in veins (100 +/- 32 vs 43 9 +/- 45 seconds). There was no significant difference in the inner di ameter, intimal thickness, or intima-to-media height ratios of the art eries or veins after either method of closure. Conclusions: Repair of 1 cm incisions in small-diameter arteries and veins with VCS clips res ults in wound healing as good as that achieved with standard suture cl osure, when assessed for patency, leakage, degree of narrowing, and in timal reaction. The time required for clip closure is considerably sho rter than for suture closure.