Arterial Homografts

Abstract

THE USE of vascular homografts in arterial reconstruction attained wide use during the past decade but since has been abandoned by most surgeons, including ourselves, because of the high incidence of failures. While early graft occlusion is almost always a result of technical failure, late closure of arterial homografts seem to relate for the most part to the atheromatous degeneration and aneurysm formation which occurs in these homologous tissues. While at the present time the use of arterial homografts is of historical interest only, it should be pointed out that many patients are alive and well today as a result of their use in an era when a more acceptable means of arterial reconstruction was not available. Some patients, however, still return for the treatment of complications of their use. Accordingly, we have reviewed all cases performed by two of us (R.R.L and C.V.M.) in order to determine the long-term