Experimental results of using autologous rectus fascia sheath for venous patch grafts in dogs

Abstract

Autologous vascular patch grafts developed from the internal rectus sheath were implanted onto the bilateral common iliac vein and jugular vein of 4 experimental beagle dogs. During the development and implanting of the grafts no technical difficulties or perioperative complications were encountered. The follow-up lasted 6 months and 3 months in the case of the common iliac vein grafts and the jugular grafts, respectively. In the postoperative period, the morphological and functional characteristics of the implanted venous sections were examined by Doppler ultrasonography and CT angiography. Normal patency was detected, and none of these check-ups showed obturation or stenosis. The histological survey showed no mesothelial cell layer, but the insides of the grafts showed total restructuring and were covered by a normal endothelial layer. No difference could be detected between samples harvested 3 and 6 months after implanting. The immunohistochemical examinations using anti-claudin-5 and anti-CD31 antibodies confirmed the preliminary results of the histological examinations that the luminal surfaces of the implanted grafts developed a differentiated monolayer endothelium which was free of degenerative and inflammatory signs. The control examinations show the suitability of the internal rectus sheath as a venous wall donor.

Chest wall reconstruction with latissimus dorsi and an autologous thoracolumbar fascia graft in a dog

“…Free or pedicled fascia grafts have also been successfully used in a variety of procedures other than body wall reconstruction: repair of scleral defects (Grundon et al ); creation of venous patch grafts (Csebi et al ); repair of urethral defects (Atalan et al ); replacement of patellar tendon (Gemmill & Carmichael ); intraarticular cranial cruciate reconstruction (Kowaleski et al ); caudal cruciate reconstruction (Kowaleski et al ), and Achilles tendon reconstruction (Swiderski et al ).…”

Morphological evaluation of experimental autologous rectus fascia sheath vascular grafts used for arterial replacement in a dog model

“…The greater saphenous vein (Akimaru et al, 2000) and the internal jugular vein (Takayama et al, 1995) are often used as autologous vascular implants in the human clinical practice. The use of the autologous internal rectus fascia sheath (IRFS) as patch or tubular vascular conduit grafts for replacing arterial or venous defects has been reported in the human and veterinary literature (Kóbori et al, 2000(Kóbori et al, , 2003(Kóbori et al, , 2008Hammond et al, 2004;Németh et al, 2005;Csébi et al, 2011). The vascular use of the IRFS was based on its previous application for aortic patch repair in dogs (Cousar and Lam, 1952), as an autologous graft in cardiac surgery (Bilfinger et al, 1983) and for numerous other indications such as choledochoplasty (Pacholewicz et al, 1998) and reconstruction of abdominal wounds (Gondolesi et al, 2009).…”