Experiences with Meadox-Dardik umbilical vein biograft as a lower extremity bypass graft.

The umbilical veins are valveless, approximately 50 mm long in the umbilical cord, and their diameter is about 4 mm. To prepare the vascular prosthesis the vein is first stripped, then submitted to tanning process, and finally is surrounded by the supporting Dacron mesh. The prosthesis is available in various sizes, from 3 to 6 mm in diameter. Seventy-two patients were operated on to revascularize the peripheric leg vessels using this prosthesis. In ten cases the early results were good and in seven cases a good late result (six months) was observed. The umbilical Meadox-Dardik biograft seems to be an excellent substitute for the saphenous vein in operative procedures in those patients who need a shorter operation or who are afflicted by the absence of the saphena.