Abstract
Autologous connective tissue is probably one of ideal materials for vascular substitutes. Animal experiments demonstrated that numerous capillaries, which newly developed in the connective tissue tube wall, opened onto the luminal surface of the grafts and pro-vided colonies of endothelial cells after the implantation to vascular system. This paper introduces the characteristics of an autologous connective tissue tube as a small diameter vascular substitute we have developed. The major properties are as follows: 1) The application of ultrafine polyester fibers (UFPF) for a framework of connective tissue tube: UFPF has high cell-affinity which makes the rapid construc-tion of connective tissue possible. 2) The attainment of temporary antithrombogenici-ty of the graft: This in situ heparinization technique can prevent the early-stage thrombosis of the graft effectively. The results of our studies suggest that autolo-gous connective tissue tube with temporary antithrombogenicity may be applicable to clinical use of a small diameter vascular substitute.
