Tissue-engineered vascular grafts demonstrate evidence of growth and development when implanted in a juvenile animal model.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

The development of a living, autologous vascular graft with the ability to grow holds great promise for advancing the field of pediatric cardiothoracic surgery.

Objective

To evaluate the growth potential of a tissue-engineered vascular graft (TEVG) in a juvenile animal model.

Methods

Polyglycolic acid nonwoven mesh tubes (3-cm length, 1.3-cm id; Concordia Fibers) coated with a 10% copolymer solution of 50:50 L-lactide and epsilon-caprolactone were statically seeded with 1 x 10 cells/cm autologous bone marrow derived mononuclear cells. Eight TEVGs (7 seeded, 1 unseeded control) were implanted as inferior vena cava (IVC) interposition grafts in juvenile lambs. Subjects underwent bimonthly magnetic resonance angiography (Siemens 1.5 T) with vascular image an

SUBMITTER: Brennan MP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2726802 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature