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Vascular Coupling System for End-to-End Anastomosis: An In Vivo Pilot Case Report

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Abstract

This paper presents the latest in vivo findings of a novel vascular coupling system. Vascular anastomosis is a common procedure in reconstructive surgeries and traditional hand suturing is very time consuming. The vascular coupling system described herein was designed to be used on arteries for a rapid and error-free anastomosis. The system consists of an engaging ring made from high density polyethylene using computer numerical control machining and a back ring made from polymethylmethacrylate using laser cutting. The vascular coupling system and its corresponding installation tools were tested in a pilot animal study to evaluate their efficacy in completing arterial anastomosis. A segment of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) tubing was interposed into a transected carotid artery by anastomosis using two couplers in a pig. Two end-to-end anastomoses were accomplished. Ultrasound images were obtained to evaluate the blood flow at the anastomotic site immediately after the surgery. MRI was also performed 2 weeks after the surgery to evaluate vessel and ePTFE graft patency. This anastomotic system demonstrated high efficacy and easy usability, which should facilitate vascular anastomosis procedures in trauma and reconstructive surgeries.

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Acknowledgment

The authors would like to acknowledge Yuxia He for her help in the animal study. The authors would like to acknowledge the use of Animal Imaging Core Facility and the MRI staff at the Utah Center for Advanced Imaging Research in the Imaging and Neurosciences Center at the University of Utah, and the financial support from the Technology and Venture Commercialization Office at the University of Utah, and the State of Utah Governor’s Office for Economic Development.

Conflict of Interest and Source of Funding

Doctors Agarwal, Gale, Sant and Li have intellectual property rights to the proposed technology through the University of Utah Technology Commercialization Office.

This study was approved by the University of Utah Institutional Animal Use and Care committee, animal procedures were conducted at the University of Utah, an AALAC accredited facility, and followed all national guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals.

Human Studies

No human studies were carried out by the authors for this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Utah, Rio Tinto Kennecott Mechanical Engineering Building E, 1495 E 100 S, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA

    Huizhong Li, Bruce Gale & Himanshu Sant

  2. Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, University of Utah, 30 N 1900 E, Salt Lake City, UT, 84132, USA

    Jill Shea, Christi M. Terry & Jay Agarwal

  3. Department of Surgery, University of Utah, 30 N 1900 E 3b400, Salt Lake City, UT, 84132, USA

    Jay Agarwal

Authors
  1. Huizhong Li
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  2. Bruce Gale
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  3. Jill Shea
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  4. Himanshu Sant
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  5. Christi M. Terry
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  6. Jay Agarwal
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jay Agarwal.

Additional information

Associate Editors Tim McGloughlin and Ajit P. Yoganathan oversaw the review of this article.

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Li, H., Gale, B., Shea, J. et al. Vascular Coupling System for End-to-End Anastomosis: An In Vivo Pilot Case Report. Cardiovasc Eng Tech 8, 91–95 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13239-017-0294-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13239-017-0294-1

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