Degeneration of knitted Dacron grafts.

This report describes three instances of severe deterioration in tensile strength of knitted Dacron grafts (Weaveknit) supplied prior to 1969. Similar deterioration has been encountered previously by us and other surgeons. All patients with this type of graft should be re-examined periodically and, if deterioration is detected at operation, the entire graft probably should be replaced. These experiences indicate that further investigation and, possibly, some alteration of the manufacturing process are warranted.