Prevention of vascular prosthetic infection by a benzalkonium-oxacillin bonded polytetrafluoroethylene graft.

Polytetrafluoroethylene grafts were bonded to oxacillin using benzalkonium chloride. Grafts were then placed in the infrarenal aorta of dogs and contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus. At death or sacrifice, bonded grafts were significantly superior to that for controls in the absence of bacteria histologically, negative cultures, patency and survival. Histologic evaluation of grafts by light and electron microscopy demonstrated normal healing and neointima formation of bonded grafts. The future role of antibiotic bonding in the prevention of vascular prosthetic infections is discussed.