Aortic Dacron Graft Research Articles

Arterial Replacement: Failure of Synthetic Prostheses

Cooke and his co-workers 1 reported three cases of aneurysmal dilation (one with fatal rupture) in Dacron aortic prosthetic grafts. The authors noted that, although similar instances of Dacron prosthesis failure in peripheral arteries had been reported, they could find no previous record of dilation of an aortic prosthesis. Two of the dilated prostheses were recovered, but, despite extensive testing, reasons for graft failure were not identified. In editorial comment on the report by Cooke et al, Deterling 2 stated that when using manufactured devices for human spare parts, one must commit himself to a followup of such a patient for his remaining life. Only by this means will the safety and effectiveness of the spare part become known. Deterling concluded with a plea for reporting all graft failures, preferably with identifying details of material and construction and an attempt to evaluate factors responsible for failure. In the current issue

Editorial: Arterial replacement: failure of synthetic prostheses

Cooke and his co-workers¹reported three cases of aneurysmal dilation (one with fatal rupture) in Dacron aortic prosthetic grafts. The authors noted that, although similar instances of Dacron prosthesis failure in peripheral arteries had been reported, they could find no previous record of dilation of an aortic prosthesis. Two of the dilated prostheses were recovered, but, despite extensive testing, reasons for graft failure were not identified. In editorial comment on the report by Cooke et al, Deterling²stated "that when using manufactured devices for human spare parts, one must commit himself to a followup of such a patient for his remaining life." Only by this means will the safety and effectiveness of the spare part become known. Deterling concluded with a plea for reporting all graft failures, preferably with identifying details of material and construction and an attempt to evaluate factors responsible for failure. In the current issue

Dacron aortic graft failure.

Three cases of aneurysmal dilatation, one with fatal rupture, occurred in Dacron aortic prosthetic grafts. Extensive testing of two specimens failed to identify the cause of failure. This experience emphasizes the remote but serious complication of graft failure that should be considered in any patient in whom an arterial prosthesis has been used.

Red cell survival after Heterograft valve surgery.

Intravascular haemolysis was studied in 24 patients three to nine months after calf or pig valve heterografts had been inserted for severe valvular heart disease. No patient had haemolytic anaemia. In five of the 24 patients there was subclinical haemolysis, and in these five the haemolysis appeared to be related to residual aortic regurgitation or to the presence of other foreign material such as a Dacron aortic graft. The extent of postoperative haemolysis in these five patients was comparable to that observed preoperatively in patients with valvular heart disease.The results support the belief that, in contrast to artificial valve prostheses, heterograft valves behave similarly to human valves as regards haemolysis.