Late clinical results with the use of heterologous pericardium for closure of the pericardial cavity.

In a limited series of 87 patients, the pericardial cavity was closed with a patch of heterologous glutaraldehyde-preserved pericardium. Five specimens have become available for macroscopic and microscopic study, with a postimplant time ranging between 1.5 and 59 months. The patches maintained their initial structure, but the reaction over the epicardial area facing the graft greatly impeded the recognition of the coronary vessels.