A new fibrin containing small diameter arterial prosthesis

The problem of replacing damaged natural vessels of small diameter has not yet been solved satisfactorily, since commercially available synthetic polymer prostheses frequently fail when their internal diameter (ID) is less than 6 mm. In order to contribute to the solution of this problem we studied a new 'biolized' polymeric material obtained by mixing synthetic polyurethanes with plasma protein fibrinogen of human origin. The blend was submitted to enzymatic treatment with thrombin to convert the fibrinogen into fibrin and with factor XIIIa and calcium ions to covalently crosslink the fibrin. The physicochemical and mechanical properties of the arterial prostheses produced with these materials have already been described. This paper refers to the results of some preliminary animal implantation experiments.