Rat posterior facial vein interpositional graft: a more relevant training model

Microvascular training models for vein grafting most often use the rat epigastric vein interpositioned to the femoral artery. We describe the rat posterior facial vein as an alternative vein graft model; it has at least a 2:1 diametric ratio to the femoral artery and a tougher connective tissue, making it more similar to clinical vein grafting for reconstructive microsurgery. A series of 24 grafts interpositioned to the femoral artery were done using 11-12 sutures per end-to-end anastomosis and yielded early patency rates of 96% at 20 min and 92% at 2 and 4 weeks for subsets of 12 grafts. As a training model the diametric disparity provides unique challenges with clinical relevance, for which a number of different techniques for matching arterial to venous circumferences can be done.