Chronic Changes in Venous Grafts After Implantation

Autogenous blood vessels are the material of choice for replacement of diseased arteries. However, the long-term patency of vascular grafts, in particular vein grafts, is limited due to progressive narrowing of the lumen by myointimal hyperplasia [63]. This review focuses on the function of endothelial cells in vein grafts, in particular, how this function is affected by stimuli in the local environment, and how these stimuli might contribute to the development of myointimal hyperplasia.