Abstract
Use of cryopreserved small-diameter elastic arterial allografts for an arterial bypass procedure has been suggested. But, the long-term patency of the cryopreserved arteries in vivo has not been 100%. Thirty New Zealand White rabbits were used in this study. The experimental arterial segments were cooled and cryopreserved in liquid nitrogen, and warmed with a precooled water jacket apparatus. The frozen/thawed autologous carotid artery was attached end to end by anastomosis with microsurgery. Patency and structural characteristics of implanted arteries were periodically assessed for 12 months using duplex/Doppler ultrasound. Histopathological analysis was performed after 1 year of observation. The results showed that (1) the thawing device we designed was useful in preventing fractures during warming processes; (2) the immediate patency was 100% following autograft implantation; (3) after 4 months, blood flow was not observed via ultrasonography in two cryopreserved arteries and in one control group artery; (4) there were no significant differences in patency between experimental and control animals (p > 0.05); and (5) histopathologically, results showed that endothelial cells in most autografts were integrated and similar in both groups. These results suggested that the cryopreservation techniques applied in this study preserved the structures and functions of carotid arteries. Cryopreserved arteries retained a relatively high patency rate after 1 year. Further studies are needed for preserving human allografts.
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