Total pericardial replacement. Design and preliminary evaluation in greyhounds

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Cardiovascular Surgery
• Regenerative Medicine

Background:

• Existing pericardial substitutes are patches, limiting their application.
• A novel, elastic, anatomically correct sac for total pericardial replacement has been developed.
• This aims to improve upon current patch-based pericardial substitutes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of novel total pericardial substitutes in preventing adhesions.
• To compare the biocompatibility and material integrity of Silastic and Mitrathane substitutes.
• To assess the potential for further development of these implantable sacs.

Main Methods:

• Total pericardial substitutes made from Silastic and Mitrathane were implanted in greyhound dogs.
• Substitutes were harvested after 8 weeks for analysis.
• Histological examination assessed fibrous tissue formation and adhesion prevention.
• Mechanical properties (tensile strength, elastic modulus) of the materials were evaluated.

Main Results:

• Both Silastic and Mitrathane substitutes successfully prevented pericardial adhesions.
• Fibrous tissue formation occurred on the underlying epicardium, more pronounced with Silastic.
• Silastic demonstrated superior retention of tensile strength and elastic modulus compared to Mitrathane (p < 0.05).

Conclusions:

• Total pericardial substitutes are effective in preventing adhesions.
• Material choice impacts fibrous tissue response and long-term mechanical properties.
• Further research into different materials for total pericardial substitutes holds significant promise.