HYPOTHESIS Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) alone is justified for infrapopliteal arterial grafting in elderly patients with critical ischemia of the lower limbs who lack a suitable, autogenous saphenous vein. DESIGN A consecutive sample clinical study with a mean follow-up of 16 months. SETTING The surgical department of an academic tertiary care center and an affiliated secondary care cente...

A comparison between a bovine jugular vein treated with a hydrophilic polyepoxy compound cross-linker (Denacol), and expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (EPTFE), an artificial material, as a patch graft for the reconstruction of the right ventricular outflow tract under extracorporeal circulation in dogs, as if they had pulmonic stenosis, was made. Hemodynamic and histological examinations were co...

PURPOSE Tumor invasion to the portal vein (PV) or superior mesenteric vein (SMV) can be encountered during the surgery for pancreatic cancer. Venous reconstruction is required, but the optimal surgical methods and conduits remain in controversies. METHODS From January 2007 to July 2012, 16 venous reconstructions were performed during surgery for pancreatic cancer in 14 patients. We analyzed t...

PURPOSE The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the stability of a high-porosity expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) graft, which has been shown to possess excellent biocompatibility and tissue integration. METHODS The graft used in the present study was a high-porosity ePTFE graft , which had an average internodal distance of approximately 60 microm and a random node architectu...

OBJECTIVE We evaluated the effect of close contact between the stent and the graft on the induction of endothelial covering on the stent graft placed over an aneurysm. MATERIALS AND METHODS Saccular abdominal aortic aneurysms were made with Dacron patch in eight dogs. The stent graft consisted of an inner stent, a expanded polytetrafluoroethylene graft, and an outer stent. After sacrificing t...

INTRODUCTION For patients with infra-inguinal autologous vein bypass graft occlusion, conventional open surgical repair or endovascular treatment (EVT) for native vessel occlusion have generally been performed. REPORT A 73 year old female with non-healing ulcer and gangrene of the left lower leg was diagnosed as having infra-inguinal autologous saphenous vein graft occlusion. In this case, su...