title: Influence of vessel clips on vascular patency in microarterial grafts less than 0.5 mm in external diameter.
abstract: Autogenous interpositional microarterial grafting of 140 saphenous branches of albino rat femoral arteries with an external diameter of 0.3 to 0.5 mm (mean 0.45 +/- 0.06 mm) resulted in an immediate patency rate of 100%. The patency rate observed at 72 hours was 64.3%. The late patency rate was related to blade tip pressure of the double approximator clip used in the microanastomosis. The patency rate with a clip with a blade tip pressure of 22 gm was 52.7% and that with a clip with a blade tip pressure of 2 gm was 77.3%. When arterial occlusion lasted less than 30 minutes, the late patency rate was 76.9% to 78.3%. If arterial occlusion lasted for as long as 1 hour, the late patency rate of vessels occluded by a clip with a blade tip pressure of 22 gm dropped to 27.8%. These results demonstrate that an interpositional microarterial graft as small as 0.5 mm in external diameter is clinically feasible.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003250:Constriction; D005263:Femoral Artery / Q000637:transplantation*; D006083:Graft Occlusion, Vascular; D008833:Microcirculation / Q000601:surgery; D008866:Microsurgery / Q000295:instrumentation; D051381:Rats; D013525:Surgical Instruments