Figure 5.

Engineered vascular conduits (EVCs) were tested as interposition grafts after femoral artery excision in rats. On the opposite side, animals were assigned to 2 groups: excision of the femoral artery followed by ligation of the proximal and distal ends without graft replacement, or sham surgery. (A) EVCs were anastomosed to the femoral artery as an interposition graft in end-to-end fashion (10–0 nylon suture, 5 stitches). (B) Time required to complete a femoral artery bypass grafting procedure utilizing the EVC or contralateral femoral artery as an interposition graft, n=5 for both groups (Student’s t-test). N.S. = not statistically significant. (C) Representative laser doppler images of hindlimbs at 1 day after sham surgery, ligation of the femoral artery, or EVC implantation. (D) Representative laser doppler images of hindlimbs at 8 weeks after sham surgery, ligation of the femoral artery, or EVC implantation. (E) Level of hindlimb perfusion following sham surgery, ligation of the femoral artery, or EVC implantation according to laser doppler imaging, n=20 animals (unitless doppler signal intensity, two-way ANOVA for repeated measures). (F) Blood flow in the EVC and native contralateral femoral artery was measured invasively using a flow probe immediately following graft implantation and after 8 weeks in vivo, n=5 for both groups (two-way ANOVA for repeated measures). * indicates p<0.05. N.S. = not statistically significant.