The gold standard material in bypass surgery of blood vessels remains the patient's own artery or vein. However, this material may be unavailable, or may suffer vein graft disease. Currently available vascular prostheses, namely polyethylene terephthalate (PET, Dacron) and expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE), perform well as large-caliber replacements, but their long-term patency is discouraging in small-caliber applications (<6 mm), such as in coronary, crural or microvessel surgery. This failure is mainly a result of an unfavorable healing process with surface thrombogenicity, due to lack of endothelial cells and anastomotic intimal hyperplasia caused by hemodynamic disturbances. An ideal small-diameter vascular graft has become a major focus of research. Novel biomaterials have been manufactured, and tissue-biomaterial interactions have been optimized. Tissue engineering technology has proven that the concept of partially or totally living blood vessels is feasible. The purpose of this review is to outline the vascular graft materials that are currently being implanted, taking into account cell-biomaterial physiology, tissue engineering approaches and the collective achievements of the authors.

Center for Cardiovascular Research Prague Czech Republic

References provided by Crossref.org

Current Status of Bioprinting Using Polymer Hydrogels for the Production of Vascular Grafts

Vascular Damage and Repair - Are Small-Diameter Vascular Grafts Still the "Holy Grail" of Tissue Engineering?

Vascular Remodeling of Clinically Used Patches and Decellularized Pericardial Matrices Recellularized with Autologous or Allogeneic Cells in a Porcine Carotid Artery Model

Endothelialization of an ePTFE vessel prosthesis modified with an antithrombogenic fibrin/heparin coating enriched with bound growth factors

Evaluation of the Immunogenicity of a Vascular Graft Covered with Collagen Derived from the European Carp (Cyprinus carpio) and Bovine Collagen

The gene expression of human endothelial cells is modulated by subendothelial extracellular matrix proteins: short-term response to laminar shear stress