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Glutaraldehyde-tanned microvascular grafts.
A H Roberts1, J T Wee, G Nightingale
1Microsurgery Research Centre, St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.
British Journal of Plastic Surgery
|July 1, 1989
Summary
Glutaraldehyde tanning of microvascular grafts showed moderate success. Human chorionic veins, when preserved with glutaraldehyde, achieved 75% patency, but further research is needed to improve this technique for clinical use.
Area of Science:
- Vascular Surgery
- Biomaterials Science
- Tissue Engineering
Background:
- Autograft veins typically maintain high patency rates (95%).
- Untreated heterograft veins exhibit significantly lower patency (15% at 4 weeks).
- Glutaraldehyde tanning is a preservation method for vascular grafts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate glutaraldehyde tanning for preserving microvascular heterografts.
- To compare glutaraldehyde-tanned heterografts with glutaraldehyde-tanned autografts.
- To assess the efficacy of human chorionic veins as microvascular grafts.
Main Methods:
- Autogenous rabbit carotid arterial grafts and human chorionic veins were preserved using glutaraldehyde tanning.
- These grafts were surgically interposed into rabbit femoral or carotid arteries.
- Graft patency rates were assessed at 4 weeks post-implantation.
Main Results:
- Glutaraldehyde-tanned autografts achieved a 50% patency rate.
- Glutaraldehyde-tanned human chorionic veins achieved a 75% patency rate.
- The study suggests glutaraldehyde tanning itself, not immunogenicity, impacts patency.
Conclusions:
- Glutaraldehyde tanning offers moderate patency for microvascular grafts.
- Human chorionic veins show potential as a preserved microvascular graft source.
- Further research is needed to optimize glutaraldehyde tanning to reduce antigenicity and thrombosis.