Late infection in Dacron arterial grafts

We report a series of cases of late infection in Dacron arterial grafts. Late infection is defined as that presenting de novo 6 months or more after the patient's discharge from hospital with a clean healed wound. One hundred and ten patients were followed up and 6 cases of this type of infection occurred. The diagnosis was made on clinical grounds and usually pain, suppuration in the line of graft, or graft exposure were the presenting features. Secondary haemorrhage, common in early infection, did not occur. Conservative management failed in most cases and removal of the infected graft was necessary. The difficult problems associated with revascularization are discussed.