Albumin-coated vascular prostheses: A five-year follow-up

In June 1989, we set out to implant 200 albumin-coated aortic bifurcation grafts and to track the patients for a period of 5 years to determine whether coating the prosthesis with albumin affected the patency or the incidence of complication. Two hundred and one prostheses were implanted between June 1989 and July 1991. The primary and secondary patency at 5 years was 95% and 98%, respectively. No relation between gender and patency or between the state of the runoff and patency was found, but there was a statistically significant relation between age and patency (p = 0.00). Graft infection was recorded in three patients (1.5%). There were no instances of bleeding through the graft at the time of implantation. The mean intra- and postoperative blood requirement was 2 units. There have been no incidences of false aneurysm in the groin. We conclude that there are no disadvantages of coating the prosthesis with albumin, and a trial of coated versus uncoated prostheses would be impractical.