ORIGINAL ARTICLES  CARDIAC SECTION 

The Journal of Cardiovascular Surgery 2010 June;51(3):443-8

Copyright © 2010 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Improved patency and reduced intimal hyperplasia in PTFE grafts with luminal immobilized heparin compared with standard PTFE grafts at six months in a sheep model

Pedersen G. ^{1, 2}, Laxdal E. ^{2, 3, 5}, Ellensen V. ^{1, 2}, Jonung T. ², Mattsson E. ⁴ ✉

¹ Surgical Clinic, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway; ² Institute of Surgical Sciences, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway; ³ Landspitalinn University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland; ⁴ Wallenberg Laboratory for Cardiovascular Research, Gothenburg, Sweden; ⁵ Institute of Surgical Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland

AIM: The aim of this study was to compare the performance of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) grafts with luminal coating of immobilized heparin to that of standard PTFE grafts at six months.
METHODS: Twenty-eight common carotid arteries in fourteen sheep were bypassed with heparin-coated PTFE grafts (6 mm diameter, 6 cm length) on one side and standard PTFE grafts on the other. The grafts were explanted after six months. The thickness of intimal hyperplasia (IH) in open grafts was measured with histomorphometrical methods.
RESULTS: Two of 14 heparinized PTFE grafts and nine of 14 grafts in the control PTFE-group were occluded at explantation (P=0.006). Six-month patency rates for heparinized PTFE grafts and for standard PTFE grafts were 86% and 36%, respectively. Mean graft anastomotic IH thickness in open grafts were 0.074 mm for heparinized PTFE grafts and 0.259 mm for PTFE-grafts (P=0.006).
CONCLUSION: PTFE grafts with luminal coating containing immobilized heparin had significantly better patency and recruited less intimal hyperplasia than standard PTFE grafts at six months.