Vein Source Influences Neointimal Response in Rat Vein-to-Artery Grafts

Abstract

BackgroundVein graft stenosis is a major complication of coronary artery bypass surgery and peripheral arterial bypass procedures. Experimental models of this clinical complication have used in vivo grafting procedures, relying on the relatively modest neointimal thickening in these models as a surrogate for clinical graft stenosis without regard to the donor site origin of the vein graft. Materials and methodsIn a standard rat model of vein grafting, three different donor sites were used to supply veins used as interpositional grafts to the femoral artery: the superficial inferior epigastric vein, the common femoral vein, and the posterior facial vein (distal branch of the jugular vein). Grafts were harvested as 4 wk and histomorphometrically evaluated for the extent of neointimal formation and lumen narrowing. ResultsThe posterior facial vein showed significantly thicker neointima and a greater extent of lumen narrowing than the other two graft sources, despite having a similar diameter to the femoral vein and nearly twice the initial diameter of the epigastric vein. ConclusionsThe source of donor graft material can greatly influence the extent of neointimal response after interpositional vein grafting to arterial flow. These findings support use of the posterior facial vein graft over other more standard donor vein grafts in research directed at understanding the causes and prevention of vein graft stenosis.