Abstract
A new low porosity artificial vascular graft (Toray graft or T-graft) was developed which is free from various drawbacks of conventional grafts such as poor suturability, unraveling at a cut edge, poor formation and instability of neointima. T-graft was made by newly developed following fiber technologies: 1) providing a two-ply woven tube of a combination of ultrafine polyester fiber (UPF) and ordinary thick fiber (OPF) for softness. 2) forming nap of UPF on the surface of the tube for better healing. 3) entangling the nap with the woven substratum and making double velour by water jet punching for unravel resistance. 4) wholly cleaning the graft to minimize adverse tissue reaction. Biostability of UPF was confirmed by animal implantation tests. T-graft passed 1 billion load recycling fatigue test and showed excellent biocompatibility in animal tests. This graft was clinically applied and its excellent handling performances were confirmed. So far, its clinical adverse effects have not been reported.
