Regenerative medicine, tissue engineering and vascular surgery: twenty first century clinical challenges

Excerpt

Cardiovascular disease remains one of the leading causes of death and illness in man. Currently available vascular prosthetic devices are associated with significant risks of infection, thromboembolism, degeneration and growth failure, especially in younger patients. Because of such problems, several groups of researchers are seeking to engineer human organs and tissues capable of replacing diseased and damaged native cardiovascular tissues [1]. Tissue engineering, defined as “an interdisciplinary field that applies the principles of engineering and life sciences towards the development of biological substitutes that restore, maintain, or improve tissue function”, offers the possibility of providing a true biological substitute with patient-specific properties [1, 2]. Vascular tissue engineering applies engineering principles and techniques to restore the structure and function of pathologically altered molecules, cells, and tissues of blood vessels [3]. The major advantage of tissue-engineered cardio-vascular tissues lies in their ability to grow, remodel, and repair in vivo without rejection. Moreover, such biological tissue-engineered substitutes provide patients with an alternative source of vascular conduits especially in cases where shortage of autologous and diseased veins is a problem. In essence, tissue-engineered cardiovascular devices offer the possibility of developing a patient-specific implantable device with the potential of growing alongside native tissue without the risk of rejection [4]. …