Degradable,microporous vascular prosthesis from segmented polyurethane

Small caliber (1.5 mm I. D.) vascular prostheses have been prepared from fractionated segmented polyurethane.The microporous and compliant prosthesis when implanted in the abdominal aorta of the rat, induced the growth of a neo-conduit, with a cellular structure similar to that of the natural artery. The process of growth of the neo-artery was accompanied by a progressive degradation of the prosthesis.Presented in part at the 11th Annual Meeting of the European Society of Artificial Organs, Alpbach-Innsbruck, September 1984.