Development of a new scrim cardiac wall substitute.

A cardiac wall substitute made of non-woven ultrafine fibers was developed. It consists of a basal knitted scrim with strongly entangled ultrafine polyester fibers, lined with a fine velour of entangled ultrafine fibers that provide high ravel and tear resistance, a perfect matrix for preclotting, and an anchor for cell adhesion. Six of the new patches and all control patches (a polytetrafluorethylene patch, woven Dacron patch, and glutaraldehyde-treated equine pericardium) were implanted in the right ventricular outflow tracts in 24 dogs. Animal experiments showed that the new patch was easy to handle and suture without fraying or tearing through the edge.