Establishment of a vascular graft infection model in the sheep carotid artery

A study was performed to assess whether a model of vascular graft infection could be established in sheep carotid artery. Either a protein sealed Dacron or a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) graft was used in 22 sheep while a control operation was performed on 4 animals. Staphylococcus aureus in concentrations of 10(2), 10(4), 10(6) or 10(8) colony-forming units (CFU) was inoculated into the wound before closure. No infection occurred with an inoculum of 10(2). The lowest concentration of organism producing infection was 10(4) for PTFE, 10(6) for Dacron and 10(8) for controls. Six of eleven Dacron grafts and seven of ten PTFE grafts became infected. The sheep carotid artery has proven a satisfactory model for studies of vascular graft infection.