Patency of polytetrafluoroethylene microarterial prostheses improved by ibuprofen

Because of the increasing need for a reliable prosthetic microvascular graft, we investigated the patency of expanded PTFE with and without platelet inhibitor medication as an arterial prosthesis (1 by 10 mm) placed in the aorta of the rat using standard microsurgical technique. In 10 animals without platelet-inhibitor medication, one graft (10 percent) was patent at 30 days. When the platelet inhibitor ibuprofen was given for the initial 15 days to 10 animals, all 10 grafts (100 percent) remained patent at 30 days without further use of the drug. There was a significant difference between the patency achieved with the drug and that obtained without it (p less than 0.0001). The results of this experimental study demonstrate that expanded PTFE can successfully be used as a microvascular graft in the rat with excellent patency (100 percent at 30 days) when combined with ibuprofen therapy.