RT Journal
A1 Hiratzka LF, Goeken JA, White RA, Wright CB
T1 IN vivo comparison of replamineform, silastic, and bioelectric polyurethane arterial grafts
JF Archives of Surgery
JO Archives of Surgery
YR 1979
FD June 1
VO 114
IS 6
SP 698
OP 702
DO 10.1001/archsurg.1979.01370300052007
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archsurg.1979.01370300052007
AB • The replamineform process allows fabrication of microporous prostheses with control of both pore diameter and structural geometry by means of a variety of biomaterials. Tubular prostheses 3 cm long, 6 mm inside diameter, and 1 mm wall thickness were made of Silastic or Bioelectric Polyurethane (BEP) with use of a template of the echinoderm Heterocentrotus mammillatus. Pore diameter of the prosthesis wall was 18 to 25 μ. Light and scanning-electron microscopy of grafts removed between 1 and 32 weeks demonstrated that organization and endothelialization of neointima were similar for both polymers, being complete by 4 to 8 weeks. However, the character of prosthesis wall ingrowth was strikingly different: the microporous lattice of BEP was completely ingrown early, but was apparently fragmented by continued granulomatous inflammation by 32 weeks, while Silastic generated minimal inflammatory response and slower fibrous tissue and capillary ingrowth. Thus, with Silastic and BEP, similarities in neointima organization appeared independent of distinct differences in wall ingrowth. The replamineform process is a unique means of studying surface healing and wall ingrowth of different biomaterials as microporous vascular prostheses in a controlled fashion.(Arch Surg 114:698-702, 1979)