Bioengineered Vascular Grafts
The development of an ideal arterial substitute has been referred to as the “Holy Grail” of vascular surgery. Since the initial concept of tissue engineering in the 1980s, the field of regenerative medicine has been steadily growing in search of novel, engineered tissue replacements to create these substitute vessels. Such research has focused on creating conduits with adequate tensile and recoil strength to withstand long-term cardiac cycles, as well as an antithrombotic and anti-inflammatory blood-contacting surface to prevent conduit failure. Conduits would require low risk for immunogenicity, foreign body response, and development of infection that could impact the long-term patency. The vessel would need to be immediately functional and combine durability, both for maintaining suture strength and resistance to subsequent mechanical stresses, with a capacity to remodel into a functional tissue and to respond to physiologic stimuli. Lastly, it would need to be cost-effective and ready to use.
