A comparison of the traumatic effects of vascular clamps.

The mature and extent of damage to the wall of the femoral artery of the dog caused by five different vascular clamps is reported. This is related to the ability of the clamp to both occlude the vessel and to hold the wall without slipping. Intimal damage was assessed by supravital staining, scanning electron microscopy of the surface and the histological appearance of sagittal sections of the arterial wall. The Atraugrip, Satinski and Potts clamps caused more apparent damage to the vessel wall and achieved occlusion by holding of the vessel at higher pressures than did the Blalock and Fogarty clamps. There is a difference between the damage produced when closure is sufficient to just occlude the vessel and that produced when the clamp is fully closed.