Systemic effects of prosthetic vascular graft implantation

The effect of prosthetic vascular graft implantation on systemic complement activation, as well as leukocyte and platelet counts, was studied in rabbits. Animals underwent aortic clamping and declamping alone (group I) or with implantation of an externally supported PTFE graft (group II) or preclotted knitted Dacron graft (group III). Fifteen minutes after declamping, mild activation of complement reflected as a fall in CH50 to 72% of preoperative baseline values was observed in group I animals. Comparatively greater activation was seen in group II (43% baseline) and group III (28% baseline) animals. The differences between groups I and II (p less than 0.05) and I and III (p less than 0.01) were significant. The drop in platelet count was greater in group II (66% baseline) and group III (53% baseline) animals compared with group I (86% baseline). Neutrophil counts decreased in group I animals (75% baseline), but, again, this fall was more marked in group II (35% baseline) and group III (43% baseline) animals. The difference between groups I and II was significant (p less than 0.05). Similarly, monocyte count decreased in group I animals (80% baseline), which was also more marked in group II (32% baseline) and group III (31% baseline) animals. The differences between group I and groups II and III were significant (p less than 0.05 for each). These trends persisted throughout the first postoperative hour. These results suggest that the blood-surface interactions produced systemic effects in vivo.