Cell-free collagen-based scaffolds used for making blood vessels in cardiovascular surgery

The present article deals with the technology of obtaining decellularized cell-free collagen-based scaffolds from arterial vessels and surgical assessment of the possibility of experimentally implanting them into the blood system of laboratory animals for experimental purposes. The study was performed on arterial vessels (n=60) and fragments of the human internal thoracic artery (n=20). Described herein is a method of obtaining a connective-tissue matrix of a blood vessel by means of vessel's perfusion for 2-3 hours with detergent solutions. Cell-free collagen-based conduits were implanted to a total of ten dogs. After the operation, the blood flow remained functional. The anastomoses established turned out to be leak-proof and the acellular vessels were able to withstand the haemodynamic load of the arterial blood flow.