Il Trapianto di Aorta Criopreservata nell’Infezione di Protesi Arteriose

Cryopreserved Aortic Homograft in the treatment of Prosthetic Graft Infection - The transpant of human arteries, abandoned in past years in favour of prosthetic arterial grafts, was reintroduced in clinical use because of its peculiar resistance to infection. Cryopreservation is able to maintain the structural characteristics of the arterial segments, while attenuating antigenic properties and lowering, as a consequence, the host immunological rejection. The Bassini Hospital Vascular Surgery experience, together with the Homograft Collaborative Vascular Group of Nord Italian Transplant, was successful in the treatment of complex clinical cases, as the one reported below, dealing with an aorto-enteric fistula and prosthetic graft infection. The very accurate technical procedures adopted in different phases of arterial transplantation: selection of donors, arterial dissection, quality control of vessels, cryopreservation, de-icing, arterial branches ligation, surgical implant, are of utmost importance for a successful outcome.