Early results of novel bovine pericardial patch using comprehensive anti-calcification procedure in a swine model

Abstract

Introduction: Bovine pericardial patches have been widely used for various cardiovascular surgeries. However, calcification still remains an important drawback. We evaluated the short term safety and effectiveness of our comprehensive anti-calcification procedure in a comparative study of the novel and commercially available bovine pericardial patch in a swine implantation model. Material and Methods: Our comprehensive anti-calcification procedure consisted of 4 steps, including decellularization with sodium dodecyl sulfate and tritonX-100, space filler treatment with polyethylene glycol, glutaraldehyde cross-linking with organic solvent, and detoxification with glycine. We simultaneously implanted both the commercially available bovine pericardial patch (Supple Peri-Guard®) and novel bovine pericardial patch processed by the comprehensive anti-calcification procedure into the main pulmonary artery in 7 pigs. Every pig underwent a cardiac angiography and was humanely sacrificed on the 28th postoperative day. The extracted patches were stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Results: All pigs survived for 4 weeks without any complication. Cardiac angiography showed the absence of leakage and structural problem. Neointimas were formed evenly without intimal hyperplasia. There were no significant differences in the degree of inflammation, necrosis, and calcification between the novel and commercially available patch (p = 0.450, p = 0.317, p = 0.999). Conclusions: Novel bovine pericardial patch using comprehensive anti-calcification procedure was similar to existing cardiovascular patch in early surgical results in a swine model. The comprehensive anti-calcification procedure could facilitate appropriate bioprosthetic properties of the bovine pericardium.