vascular graft

A vascular graft is a piece of living tissue used to bypass or replace a blocked or narrowed artery. These grafts are frequently used to treat atherosclerosis, a condition where fatty deposits harden arteries, leading to serious health issues like heart attacks and strokes.12

The most successful type of vascular graft is an autograft, where a vein is taken from the patient's own leg, reversed, and attached above and below the blockage. This procedure, commonly known as coronary artery bypass surgery, is one of the most frequent operations performed in developed countries. While synthetic vascular grafts made from materials like Dacron and ePTFE are also used, they can face challenges with biocompatibility and the risk of thrombosis (blood clotting). Grafts between individuals of the same species (allografts) are less successful than autografts due to potential rejection by the recipient's immune system.123