SEALING OF A FABRIC VASCULAR PROSTHESIS WITH AUTOLOGOUS ADIPOSE-TISSUE - A PRELIMINAR REPORT OF ITS CLINICAL-APPLICATION

A new method of sealing fabric vascular prostheses with autologous adipose tissue was clinically applied as an alternative to preclotting with fresh blood. Thirty-six patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease were implanted with highly porous fabric prostheses. The prostheses were prepared by sealing the fabric pores with autologous adipose tissue that had been chopped up into small pieces and enmeshed in the fabric by forceful injection of the tissue suspension through a syringe. There was no complication related to the sealed graft such as graft bleeding after implantation. In-hospital mortality occurred in 4 patients: 1 case each of pneumonia, pulmonary infarction, sepsis, and acute myocardial infarction. During the period of 274 +/- 190 days, 3 prostheses were found to be occluded. All the other grafts were patent. The overall patency rate was 91.4%. Post-operative angiography revealed neither intimal thickening at the anastomotic sites nor irregularity of the prosthetic surface. The method proved safe and useful for implantation of smaller caliber artificial grafts.