Clinical and invasive 7-month follow-up of a patient with a synthetic coronary graft

The PossisR polytetrafluoroethylene Permaflow is a synthetic coronary graft which incorporates a Venturi resistor and which is anastomosed to the superior vena cava. Multiple anastomoses to the coronary vessels can be established in sequence until the graft is finally connected to the aorta. This aortocaval fistula enables permanent flow within the synthetic graft. We present the post-operative clinical and invasive findings of a 69-year-old female patient with a PossisR coronary graft. Follow-up angiography 3 and 7 months post-operatively showed patency of both coronary anastomoses and sufficient run-off to the native vessel segments. The left-right shunt induced by the graft was hemodynamically insignificant. Left ventricular function had improved significantly. 30 MHz intravascular ultrasound of the proximal part of the PossisR graft did not show an extra inner layer at the luminal side of the synthetic graft wall, so that relevant intimal thickening could be excluded after an interval of 7 months post implantation. Using an intravascular imaging technique, focal atherosclerotic lesions or thrombotic graft wall alterations could also be ruled out.