Seeding Endothelium Onto Canine Arterial Prostheses

Abstract

• To identify prosthetic characteristics that support the proliferation of an endothelial lining, 14 different graft designs were studied in dogs. The grafts were prepared by the use of a technique of endothelial seeding that we described previously. They were studied two and four weeks after their implantation. Weft-knit Dacron grafts (water porosity from 1,400 to 1,650 mL/min/sq cm) were the most successful. A velour index (velour stitch frequency times velour loop height) was computed. When the internal velour index (IVI) was >60,000 loop-μ/sq cm, the percentage of clot-free surface was 17.2 ± 14.5%, compared with 62.0 ± 26.9% when the IVI Arch Surg 114:679-682, 1979)