Submillimeter Diameter Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) Vascular Graft Patency in Rabbit Model.

ABSTRACT: Microvascular surgery is becoming a prevalent surgical practice. Replantation, hand reconstruction, orthopedic, and free tissue transfer procedures all rely on microvascular surgery for the repair of venous and arterial defects at the millimeter and submillimeter levels. Often, a vascular graft is required for the procedure as a means to bridge the gap between native arteries. While autologous vessels are desired for their bioactivity and non-thrombogenicity, the tedious harvest process, lack of availability, and caliber or mechanical mismatch contribute to graft failure. Thus, there is a need for an off-the-shelf artificial vascular graft that has low thrombogenic properties and mechanical properties matching those of submillimeter vessels. Poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel (PVA) has excellent

SUBMITTER: Cutiongco MF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4896917 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature