Mackenzie E Turner, Kevin M Blum, Tatsuya Watanabe, Erica L Schwarz, Mahboubeh Nabavinia, Joseph T Leland, Delaney J Villarreal, William E Schwartzman, Ting-Heng Chou, Peter B Baker, Goki Matsumura, Rajesh Krishnamurthy, Andrew R Yates, Kan N Hor, Jay D Humphrey, Alison L Marsden, Mitchel R Stacy, Toshiharu Shinoka, Christopher K Breuer
Advancements in congenital heart surgery have heightened the importance of durable biomaterials for adult survivors. Dystrophic calcification poses a significant risk to the long-term viability of prosthetic biomaterials in these procedures. Herein, we describe the natural history of calcification in the most frequently used vascular conduits, expanded polytetrafluoroethylene grafts. Through a retrospective clinical study and an ovine model, we compare the degree of calcification between tissue-engineered vascular grafts and polytetrafluoroethylene grafts...
March 11, 2024: Nature Communications