[Postoperative evaluation of presealed vascular prostheses in surgical treatment of the thoracic aorta].
Two kinds of presealed vascular prostheses were started to use for the thoracic aortic surgery at May 1991. The Gelseal graft was implanted in 13 patients and the Hemashield graft in 31 patients. Each cases was performed enhanced computed tomographic scan periodically to determine the extent of postoperative dilatation of both grafts. These showed that the Gelseal graft is significant more dilated than the Hemashield graft (51.2 +/- 8.1% vs 10.2 +/- 5.8%: p < 0.001). The dilatation was almost completed within one month and no addition later on both grafts. Because of more dilatation and possibility of serous discharge, the Gelseal graft is not good prosthesis for the patients who require postoperative anticoagulant therapy. If the Gelseal graft is used, smaller size should be selected for its dilatation. As the result of this study, the Hemashield graft is more suitable for thoracic aortic lesions than the Gelseal graft.