Pretreatment of synthetic vascular grafts with heparin before implantation, a simple technique to reduce the risk of thrombosis

Abstract

Thrombosis of synthetic grafts commonly used in cardiovascular surgery is a major complication. We examined whether pretreatment of the graft with heparin reduces the risk of early thrombosis. A circuit was assembled to compare two pairs of shunts simultaneously in the same animal. The study shunts were pretreated with heparin. After 2 hours of circulation, clot formation was evaluated by image analysis techniques. The pretreated grafts had fewer blood clots adhered to the surface by direct visual inspection. The image analysis showed 5 vs. 39 clots, 0.01% vs. 1.8% clotted area, and 62 vs. 5630 clot pixel area between the treated and non-treated grafts respectively, p < 0.05. Pretreatment of the synthetic graft with heparin prior to implantation reduces the risk of early clot formation. This simple practice might be helpful to prevent initial thrombosis of the graft and later occlusion.

Elastomeric Electrospun Scaffolds of a Biodegradable Aliphatic Copolyester Containing PEG-Like Sequences for Dynamic Culture of Human Endothelial Cells

“…As showed in Figure 5, all parameters considered for electrospun samples showed no significant difference compared to Dacron control, except for reaction time, which is prolonged on RND and ALN scaffolds. Reaction time represents the time needed for the beginning of the coagulation process, and, while this parameter for electrospun scaffolds still fits the range of physiological values [44], an increased reaction time could imply a decrease of probability of thrombus formation, a common problem in vascular substitution [45,46]. To evaluate the behavior of endothelial cells seeded onto electrospun scaffolds, and therefore scaffolds' cytocompatibility with cells of vascular environment, EA.hy926 viability and morphology were assessed.…”