Polytetrafluoroethylene grafts in the peripheral venous circulation of rabbits.

We demonstrated by venography that the patency of 3 mm PTFE grafts in the jugular veins of rabbits could be maintained by pretreating the animals with either an anticoagulant (warfarin sodium) or an antiplatelet agent (aspirin, dipyridamole, or both). Examination of the lining of the grafts up to 4 months after grafting by scanning electron microscopy or light microscopy showed that endothelial cells extended across the anastomosis for a short distance and that a neointima lined the remainder of the graft. This lining could hypertrophy to the point of almost occluding the graft unless the drugs were continued.