Mechanical and histologic changes in canine vein grafts

Mechanical and histological studies were performed on dog femoral veins after their implantation as grafts to bypass the ligated femoral arteries. The vein grafts dilated rapidly after implantation with 90% of maximum dilation occurring at 4 weeks. Both the native veins and the vein grafts were highly compliant up to 35-50 mm Hg, but were virtually nondistensible at higher pressures. When implanted with end-to-side anastomoses (end of vein to side of artery), the compliance of the anastomotic region resembled that of the artery rather than that of the vein. This was due to the distensibility of the artery at arterial pressure, as compared with the almost rigid vein. Histologic examination showed that intimal hyperplasia was greater after end-to-side anastomosis than after end-to-end anastomosis (P less than 0.05) and that this increased hyperplasia was reduced by treatment with aspirin and dipyridamole (P less than 0.05). By contrast, medial thickening was increased in all grafts compared with native veins (P less than 0.05), but was not different in end-to-end, end-to-side, and aspirin/dipyridamole-treated end-to-side grafts. These data suggest that intimal hyperplasia and medial thickening are separate responses to different stimuli.