[Biological studies of Gore-Tex vascular prostheses]

In 1981 we received the Gore-Tex PTFE vascular prostheses, 12 mm in diameter, in order to test their value. Experimental studies were carried out on 6 piglets, in which 5 cm long sections of the prostheses under study were grafted into surgical defects of the thoracic aorta. The dissections were made 1, 3, 6 months after grafting, each time detailed pathomorphological studies were carried out. The results show that PTFE prostheses, grafted into a piglet thoracic aorta was surrounded by fibrinous connective tissue. The tissue on the outside of the prostheses differs in histological structure from that inside. After 6 months it was found that the prosthesis has inside a thin layer of fibrinous connective tissue, connected to the prostheses wall; the layer did not constrict the internal diameter. The Gore-Tex prostheses fulfill biological requirements on vascular prostheses after their grafting into operational defects of the aorta.