Evaluation of prosthetic grafts of different porosity for arterial reconstruction

Autogenous jugular veins and Dacron grafts of different porosities were implanted as short bypass grafts around ligated femoral arteries in the dog. Patency rates for periods up to eight months were: vein, 79 per cent; DeBakey Dacron (lowest porosity), 39 per cent; Wesolowski Weavenit (intermediate porosity), 56 per cent; high porosity Dacron, 8 per cent. The failure of sixteen of the twenty-four high porosity grafts was related to perigraft hematomas that occurred two to seven days after operation and later thrombosis. The higher the porosity of the graft, the better the healing pattern as evidenced by fibrous bonding of the inner and outer linings of the grafts through the interstices. In the spectrum of grafts with increasing porosity there is apparently an optimal porosity beyond which late bleeding counterbalances the better healing properties of the higher porosity graft.