An absorbable catheter system for use in microvascular and peripheral vascular surgery: an experimental study in the canine.

An absorbable catheter for use in regional anticoagulation in microvascular and peripheral vascular surgery was studied in 20 sites in 10 adult beagle dogs to answer three questions: (1) Could the polyglycolic acid and trimethylene carbonate catheter withstand intraarterial pressures of infusion and completely absorb over a predictable time interval? (2) Could the catheter be filled with heparin and maintain patency for reuse after a 24-hour interval? (3) Could the catheter be placed in a side branch of a major artery and, after catheter dissolution, maintain long-term patency of the primary feeding artery? The catheters were completely absorbed from 24 to 34 weeks following implantation. The catheters were able to withstand intraarterial pressures, and no evidence of significant thrombosis of the primary feeding artery was seen in any animal studied. No complications of catheter leak, hematoma formation within the catheter placement sites, or sepsis were noted in any of the 20 catheter sites studied.