Fat- and bone marrow-impregnated small diameter PTFE grafts

Objectives: to evaluate an alternative and simple technique which consists in impregnation of a synthetic prosthesis with either autogenic omental fat or bone marrow. These tissues have been selected based on previous work and because they contain multiple cellular and extracellular compounds with biological healing properties (i.e. angiogenesis, endothelialisation, etc.). Design: PTFE grafts of Group 1 were impregnated with fatty tissue, those of Group 2 with bone marrow and those of Group 3 served as controls. Materials: nine mongrel dogs divided among these three groups. PTFE grafts are 3 mm in diameter. Methods: in each animal, both iliac arteries were submitted to an end-to-side ilio-iliac bypass. At 3 months, pathology assessment was performed. Results: group 1: all grafts were thrombosed and intimal hyperplasia was found occluding the anastomotic sites. Group 2: 4/6 grafts were patent and their mid-portion presented a thin neointima which did not totally cover the anastomotic sites. Group 3: 2/5 grafts were patent and their mid-portion as well as the anastomotic sites were covered with neointima which was hyperplastic in some areas. Conclusions: addition of bone marrow cells may contribute to improve the quality of the healing process.