Comparative study on the fibrinolytic activity of pseudointima in varying types of autovein grafting.

Three types of autovein grafting procedures have been commonly employed for peripheral arterial reconstruction, that is, non-reversed, reversed and in-situ autovein grafting, and these procedures were comparatively studied in dogs to assess the best one for grafting. In the fibrinolytic activity of the internal surface of the grafts, as measured by standard fibrin plate method and Todd's fibrin slide technique, the in-situ autovein graft showed the highest activity, 139.5% in the mean, followed by 18% (mean) in the reversed autovein graft and 5.2% (mean) in the nonreversed autovein graft. The extent of fibrous proliferation of the pseudointima was least in the in-situ graft followed by the reversed and the non-reversed graft. These results suggest that preservation of the vasa vasorum is the most important factor to minimize fibrous proliferation of the graft pseudointima and to maintain high fibrinolytic activity on the internal surface of the graft. Consequently, the in-situ autovein grafting appears to be the most suitable method to ensure peripheral arterial continuity following surgical reconstruction.