Experimental comparative assay of tensile resistance of greater saphenous vein from ankle and groin

BACKGROUND: The great saphenous vein is used as patch material in several types of arterial reconstruction, including trauma and carotid and femoral endarterectomy. There have been reports of saphenous patch blowout, particularly of patches constructed with veins harvested from the ankle. There is a need for objective measurement of the resistance of saphenous vein tissues. OBJECTIVES: To measure the tensile strength of the great saphenous vein harvested at the ankle and groin and analyze the correlation between diameter and tissue strength. METHODS: Venous samples were harvested during elective saphenous stripping in patients with symptomatic varicose veins. Only segments without reflux were included. Ten limbs from eight patients were studied, providing 20 samples in total. Venous segments were opened along their longitudinal axis and fitted to electronic traction assay equipment to obtain values for material maximum tension in kilograms-force per square centimeter (kgf/cm(2); the maximum force resisted by the segment, divided by its cross-sectional area). RESULTS: The average maximum tension in the ankle saphenous vein group ranged from 74.02 to 190.10 kgf/cm(2) and from 13.53 to 69.45 kgf/cm2 in the groin saphenous vein group (p < 0.0001). The Pearson coefficient for the correlation between vein diameter and maximum tension was -0.852 (moderate to strong inverse correlation). CONCLUSIONS: Ankle saphenous vein tissue from female patients operated for varicose veins has significantly higher resistance than saphenous vein tissue from the groin and there is an inverse relation between vein diameter and resistance of tissue from the same population.