Polytetrafluoroethylene grafts in the rapid reconstruction of acute contaminated peripheral vascular injuries

Conventional wisdom dictates that autogenous tissue interposition be used in contaminated wounds when direct vascular repair is not feasible. Although there are few reports of successful use of PTFE grafts in grossly contaminated wounds, doubt still exists regarding the use of any prosthetic material in such wounds for reconstruction of vascular injury. Twenty-five vascular reconstructions were performed in 20 patients during a 3.5 year period. These patients had life-threatening multiple trauma and severe local tissue damage along with their arterial and venous injuries in open contaminated wounds after blunt (16 patients) and penetrating (4 patients) trauma. In all patients, 6 mm PTFE was used for interposition bypass for arterial injuries, and in five of these patients, 8 mm PTFE was used for concomitant venous interposition bypass. One patient died and there was one arterial and one venous graft thrombosis in the same patient 3 months after a shotgun blast injury to the groin, but there was no limb loss. All other grafts remained patent without wound infection, sepsis, or anastomatic disruption. Under the circumstances of these peripheral vascular injuries, PTFE was an acceptable choice for primary reconstruction in our patients. Its ready availability in many calibers, sparing of autogenous vein for future use, and its expedience in vascular reconstruction comprise the advantages of using PTFE in multiply traumatized patients without producing the feared evidence of infected prosthetic grafts.