title: New uncoated vascular prosthesis reduces mediastinal tube drainage after thoracic aortic surgery.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A new vascular graft (Triplex [Vascutek Terumo, Tokyo, Japan]) has a three-layer structure and no biologic coating material. We assessed inflammatory reaction and mediastinal tube drainage after thoracic aortic surgery using this graft.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between January 2009 and September 2009, 127 patients underwent open ascending aortic or arch repair. Triplex grafts (Vascutek Terumo) were used in 39 patients. After matching surgical procedures, 35 matched pairs (35 with Triplex, group A; 35 with coated graft, group B) were created. We compared postoperative inflammatory markers, amount, and duration of mediastinal drainage between the two groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was no difference in postoperative inflammatory marker levels between the two groups. The median total amounts of mediastinal drainage were 690 mL (group A) and 1,500 mL (group B) (p < 0.001). The median durations of drainage were 67 and 128 hours, respectively (p < 0.001). Multivariate linear regression analyses showed that use of the Triplex graft is an independent predictor of the small amount and short duration of mediastinal drainage.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Triplex grafts reduce the amount and duration of mediastinal drainage after thoracic aortic surgery, which may promote early ambulation and fast postoperative recovery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Sakakibara Heart Institute, Tokyo, Japan. mtabata@post.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Minoru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tabata
authors.forename: Tomoki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shimokawa
authors.forename: Toshihiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fukui
authors.forename: Susumu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Manabe
authors.forename: Yasunori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Shuichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takanashi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000601:surgery*; D001018:Aortic Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D015505:Chest Tubes; D004322:Drainage / Q000295:instrumentation*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008482:Mediastinum / Q000601:surgery*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011182:Postoperative Care / Q000379:methods; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D019616:Thoracic Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D013997:Time Factors