Characteristics of titanium-coated polyester prostheses in the animal model.

Commercially available polyester vascular prostheses (n = 6) in the control group (CG) and titanium-coated vascular prostheses (TP; n = 7) were interposed within the infrarenal aorta of pigs. The respective healing characteristics and patency rates were compared after 3 months. For evaluation purposes, macroscopic, histological, and immunohistochemical criteria were applied. The macroscopic evaluation revealed complete healing of the TP in comparison with the CG. Extraluminal inspection revealed prominent firm cicatricial tissue in the prosthesis bed of the TP group. All TP were occluded. In the CG, occlusion of the prostheses occurred in n = 1 (16 %). On average, neointimal hyperplasia (NIH) in the proximal part of the anastomosis was not significantly different to the CG. The extraluminal proliferation index (Ki67) was reduced in the TP group (p = 0.002). The immunohistochemical analysis of intraluminal changes revealed no significant differences between CG and TP. All of the titanium-coated polyester vascular prostheses were found to be occluded. The additional coating of polyester prostheses with titanium would not appear to be of any particular benefit. Copyright 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.