Compliant venous graft
A venous graft for replacement of a section of an artery and methods of making the graft. The graft comprises a flexible, resilient, generally tubular external support and a vein segment carried within and having an ablumenal surface in contact with and supported by the tubular support, the venous graft being capable of resilient radial expansion in a manner mimicking the radial compliance properties of an artery.
1. A flexible, resilient, generally tubular external support within which may be supported a vein segment to form a replacement venous graft mimicking the compliance properties of a healthy artery, the tubular support comprising a knit wire mesh and being capable of resilient radial expansion in a manner providing compliance in the range of 3 to 30%/100 mm Hg.
2. The tubular external support of claim 1 wherein the vein segment includes an abluminal surface in contact with, and supported by, said knit wire mesh.
3. The tubular external support of claim 1 in which said knit wire mesh comprises loops that alternate in size circumferentially about the support.