Clinical experience with modified human umbilical cord vein for arterial bypass.

Umbilical veins were removed from human cords, tanned with gluteraldehyde, and surrounded by a polyester fiber mesh. Arterial bypasses were performed with this material in eight persons with threatened limb loss and for whom no other graft material was available. The distal anastomoses were to the small vessels of the leg or to the popliteal artery below the knee. Limb salvage and function were obtained in five patients. Three of these also required early thrombectomy to obtain success. This complication may be related to the presence of gluteraldehyde oligomers and polymers of free aldehyde groups. Morphologic evaluation of the graft suggests that human umbilical cords are a potentially valuable source for vascular substitutes.