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Learn About Allografts

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Sub-Category Intro

Cardiac and vascular grafts are soft tissues used to repair a variety of defects in the heart or circulatory system. Like other soft tissue grafts, they are derived from a variety of sources, although due to their critical function, can be subject to more stringent regulatory oversight.

Cryopreserved and decellularized allografts offer surgeons a safe and reliable solution for cardiac and vascular repair and reconstruction.

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Types of Cardiac and Vascular Grafts

Autograft: Heart valve or vascular graft recovered from the patient for implantation into another location on the patient’s body. Examples include use of the pulmonary valve to replace the aortic valve(the Ross Procedure) and saphenous vein for coronary artery bypass surgery.

Allograft: Grafts from another human with family authorization - properties can vary depending uponprocessing and preservation.

  • Cryopreserved: Grafts from a donor that has been cryopreserved to protect tissue integrity.
  • Decellularized: Grafts from a donor in which the cellular content has been removed. For example, CardioGRAFT MC(R) pulmonary patches.

Xenograft: Grafts from another species, such as cows or pigs. These grafts are processed to prevent animmunogenic response.

Synthetic: Grafts made from synthetic materials, for example Dacron ® for aortic aneurism repair,5  or aheart valve made from titanium or carbon.

Xenograft/Synthetic combination: Grafts, such as porcine heart valves, may include synthetic materials combined with xenograft, such as a manufactured mitral valve made of cobalt-chromium and bovine pericardium.

References

References
  1. Megahed MA, Elkashity SA, Talaab AA, AboShaban MS. The Impact Of Human Skin Allograft As A Temporary Substitute For Early Coverage Of Major Burn Wounds On Clinical Outcomes And Mortality. Ann Burns Fire Disasters. 2021 Mar 31;34(1):67-74. PMID: 34054389; PMCID: PMC8126363.
  2. Petrie K, Cox CT, Becker BC, MacKay BJ. Clinical applications of acellular dermal matrices: A review. Scars Burn Heal. 2022 Jan 19;8:20595131211038313. doi: 10.1177/20595131211038313. PMID: 35083065; PMCID: PMC8785275.
  3. Landsman A, Rosines E, Houck A, Murchison A, Jones A, Qin X, Chen S, Landsman AR. Characterization of a Cryopreserved Split- Thickness Human Skin Allograft-TheraSkin. Adv Skin Wound Care. 2016 Sep;29(9):399-406. doi: 10.1097/01.ASW.0000489991.32684.9e. PMID: 27538107.
  4. Antonopoulos CN, Papakonstantinou NA, Hardy D, Lyden SP. Editor's Choice - Cryopreserved Allografts for Arterial Reconstruction after Aorto-Iliac Infection: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
  5. Spadaccio C, Rainer A, Barbato R, Trombetta M, Chello M, Meyns B. The long-term follow-up of large-diameter Dacron® vascular grafts in surgical practice: a review. J Cardiovasc Surg (Torino). 2019 Aug;60(4):501-513. doi: 10.23736/S0021-9509.16.08061-7. Epub 2014 Apr 14. PMID: 24727799.