Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the postoperative inflammatory reactions to albumin-coated Dacron grafts (ACGs), which are used in the repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA).
Experimental design: a retrospective study with a follow-up period of 14 days.
Setting: University hospital.
Patients: 50 patients admitted for elective AAA repair from January 1997 to January 2000.
Interventions: each patient underwent AAA repair with an ACG (Bard, albumin-coated Dacron graft).
Measures: the white blood cell (WBC) count, plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration, and body temperature (BT) were determined. The preoperative data, the highest values of the postoperative data, and the values 2 weeks postsurgery were analyzed.
Results: The BT, CRP, and WBC increased and peaked at the 1st week postsurgery and then decreased gradually. The BT and WBC levels returned to normal within 2 weeks. The CRP level continued to show slightly elevated values in the 2nd week, but it was not significantly different compared to the preoperative data.
Conclusions: The use of an albumin-impregnated prosthesis for the reconstruction of AAA is biocompatible, since no significant increases in inflammatory reactions are observed in the 2nd week postsurgery.