Experimental prosthetic vein valve.
The incidence of venous insufficiency is increasing, approximately 800,000 new cases are reported yearly in the United States. Medical treatment of venous insufficiency syndrome has been associated with a high incidence of failure. Although vein valve transplantation has resulted in improvement in the majority of cases, late degeneration and incompetency of the valve prompted us to devise a prosthetic vein valve for experimental use. Ten dogs underwent insertion of a prosthetic vein valve without anticoagulants. Between 3 and 8 months after insertion, ascending and descending venography revealed patency and competency of these valves.