Vascular engineering for bypass surgery

Abstract

Since the introduction of synthetic vascular grafts in the 1960s, only two-stage endothelial cell seeding has demonstrated any significant improvement over conventional vascular grafts, and its benefits have yet to be demonstrated on a large scale. Tissue engineering is a rapidly expanding field with great potential, but efforts to construct tissue-engineered arterial grafts have, to date, yielded little clinical success. This review explores the latest approaches to the construction ot a superior vascular graft, along with its potential for use in the clinic in the future. © 2005 Future Drugs Ltd.