Surgical, vascular prosthesis formed of composite yarns containing both synthetic and animal derivative strands

Claim 1

A VASCULAR PROSTHETIC IMPLANT FOR SURGICAL USE IN THE REPAIR AND REPLACEMENT OF VESSELS AND TRACTS IN HUMAN AND ANIMAL BODIES, SAID IMPLANT COMPRISING A POROUS FLEXIBLE TUBULAR UNIT OF COMPOUND FABRIC CONSTRUCTION CHARACTERIZED BY A RELATIVELY LOW POROSITY INITIALLY AT THE TIME OF IMPLANTATION AND ALSO BY THE CAPACITY TO INCREASE IN POROSITY IN THE IMPLANTED STATUS UNDER BIOLOGICAL ACTION WHEREIN AN ORGANIC COMPONENT OF THE FABRIC IS SYSTEMATICALLY RESORBED AND IN THAT DISSOLVED AND REPLACED BY LIVING TISSUE AND CELLULAR GROWTH BETWEEN AND THROUGH THE FABRIC, SAID COMPOUND FABRIC IMPLANT FORMED OF INTERLACED YARNS FABRICATED IN A MESH STRUCTURE SUFFICIENTLY CLOSED TO BE SUBSTANTIALLY IMPERMEABLE TO BLOOD WHEN THE PROSTHESIS IS FIRST IMPLANTED, THE INITIAL POROSITY OF SAID MESH STRUCTURE RANGING FROM ZERO THROUGH AN IDEAL VALUE OF ABOUT 50 UP TO NOT MORE THAN ABOUT 500 ON THE WESOLOWSKI SCALE, SAID COMPOUND FABRIC MESH STRUCTURE FABRICATED AT LEAST IN PART UNIFORMLY DISTRIBUTED COMPOSITE YARNS COMPRISING STRANDS OF A NON-ABSORBABLE SYNTHETIC SUBSTANCE OF ADEQUATE STRENGTH, FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE AND CHARACTERIZED BY THE PROPERTIES OF COMPATIBILITY WITH AND RELATIVE INERTNESS TO CHANGE IN THE PRESENCE OF LIVING TISSUE, OF WETTABILITY TO BLOOD, AND OF CAPACITY FOR STERILIZATION, AND SAID COMPOSITE YARNS FURTHER COMPRISING STRANDS OF AN ANIMAL DERIVATIVE SUBSTANCE SUFFICIENTLY HEMOSTATIC TO PREVENT BLOOD LEAKAGE DURING AN INITIAL IMPLANTATION OF THE PROSTHESIS BUT HAVING THE CAPACITY FOR BIOLOGICAL ABSORPTION IN PROSTHETIC USE, SAID SYNTHETIC SUBSTANCE STRANDS AFFORDING A STABLE STRUCTURAL FRAMEWORK FOR SAID POROUS FLEXIBLE TUBULAR IMPLANT,