Abstract
The morphological appearance of longitudinally sectioned rat femoral arteries was determined in intact arteries and from 3 to 435 days after vessel division and anastomosis with either 9/0 gauge nylon or polydioxanone (PDS) in 26 animals. The purpose of the study was to establish the mechanisms and compare the quality of healing after microarterial anastomosis and to determine whether PDS was degraded before sufficient anastomotic healing had taken place. The results revealed that there was no difference in the process of healing or quality of anastomosis with either suture material. From 3 to 21 days post anastomosis, there was a progressive separation of the ends of vessels within the developing scar. Anastomotic patency was established and maintained at first by an adventitial overgrowth of fibroblasts and undifferentiated adventitial cells and later by the growth of a smooth myocyte scar that stretched between the cut ends of the vessel and over the intima in the form of elongated circumferential plaques. The vessel was morphologically healed by the 21st day. The sutures served little or no purpose in maintaining anastomotic integrity after the 5th day, being situated in the scar forming between the separating vessel ends. PDS was present within the vessel wall up to 120 days post anastomosis and was certainly intact at the time of morphological healing, suggesting that this material is safe as a microvascular suture.