The development of biological vascular prostheses for vascular surgery

摘要

abstract_textpIntroduction of the autologous greater saphenous vein bypass more than 60 years ago marked a dramatic progress in vascular surgery. Unfortunately the saphenous vein is not always available as bypass material. Therefore, intensive efforts were made to develop alternative vascular conduits especially for smaller caliber arteries. Research activities not only focused on the now well known synthetic PTFE or Dacron vascular grafts, but also included a number of biological materials of different origin, some of which are still available for clinical use. Mainly biological vascular prostheses are used for peripheral bypass surgery or dialysis access. Development of these grafts is described according to three basic principles - denaturated heterologous blood vessels, autogenous reinforced collagen conduit and denaturated homologous blood vessels./p/abstract_text