Clinical Properties and Healing Characteristics of e-PTFE Vascular Grafts and Their Effects on Long-Term Patency

Approximately 400,000 coronary artery bypass and 150,000 femoral popliteal bypass grafting procedures are performed in the United States annually [1,2]. Saphenous vein is the preferred conduit for bypassing femoropopliteal occlusive and aneurysmal lesions and together with the internal mammary artery (IMA) is used for coronary artery bypass grafting. IMA grafts have higher patency rates (96 and 90% vs. 81 and 53% than saphenous vein as aortocoronary bypass grafts at 1 and 10 years, respectively. However, their supply is limited and bilateral harvesting of the IMAs may be associated with a higher incidence of sternal wound complications [2,3]. In a significant number of individuals, saphenous veins are unavailable or unsuitable for usage because they have been previously removed, are varicosed, or have been the site of thrombophlebitis.