Clinical correlation of vein graft adaptation

Abstract

While we revascularize our patients using venous bypass, we seldom think of the complex process that is set into place the minute that we remove arterial control and reperfuse the limb. Yet once arterial blood enters the venous graft, adaptation of the graft to its new environment is triggered. This adaptation plays a significant role in graft patency, clinical durability, and ultimate clinical outcomes. Although vein graft remodeling has been widely studied in both animal and clinical models much about this process remains poorly understood.