Randomized controlled trial comparing the safety and efficacy between the FUSION BIOLINE heparin-coated vascular graft and the standard expanded polytetrafluoroethylene graft for femoropopliteal bypass.

Objective: Despite improvements in endovascular therapy for lower extremity arterial disease, open surgical revascularization is still required when the disease is extensive. Although autogenous vein is the conduit of choice for open femoropopliteal bypass, prosthetic grafts can be an acceptable alternative when adequate vein is not available. The FUSION BIOLINE heparin-coated vascular graft (Maquet Endovascular, Wayne, NJ) was developed to improve the patency rate associated with standard prosthetic grafts. The current study, the FINEST Trial (Comparison of Safety and Primary Patency Between the FUSION BIOLINE Heparin-Coated Vascular Graft and EXXCEL Soft ePTFE), was designed to assess the clinical outcome of heparin-coated and standard vascular grafts in a prospective, randomized, controlled, multicenter trial.

Methods: During a 25-month period ending in June 2012, 209 eligible patients scheduled to undergo elective prosthetic femoral to above-knee or below-knee popliteal bypass were randomized to receive a standard expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) graft or the heparin-coated FUSION BIOLINE vascular graft. Among 203 patients in the efficacy analysis, claudication was the presenting symptom in 147 (72.4%), and the site of the distal anastomosis was at the above-knee level in 174 (85.7%). Grafts were assessed by duplex ultrasound imaging and ankle-brachial indices performed postoperatively at discharge and at 30 days, 6 months, and 12 months. The primary efficacy end point was primary patency of the study graft. The primary safety end point was the composite of major adverse events and periprocedural death. Secondary end points included the time to hemostasis of bleeding at the anastomotic suture hole and primary assisted and secondary patency.

Results: The primary patency rates at 6 months were 86.4% for the FUSION BIOLINE heparin-coated vascular graft group compared with 70.0% for the standard ePTFE group, a difference of 16.4% (95% confidence interval, 2.7%-29.9%; P = .006), and the respective rates at 12 months were 76.5% and 67.0% (95% confidence interval, -4.8% to 23.0%; P = .05). The mean time to hemostasis of bleeding at the suture hole was 3.5 minutes in the FUSION BIOLINE group and 11.0 minutes in the standard ePTFE group (P < .0001). Major adverse events were significantly lower in the FUSION BIOLINE group, occurring in 17.1%, compared with 30.7% in the standard ePTFE group (P = .033), principally a result of a lower rate of major graft reinterventions through 12 months in the FUSION BIOLINE group (16.2% vs 30.7%).

Conclusions: Data from this randomized multicenter study demonstrated improved midterm patency, less bleeding at the suture hole, and lower major adverse events with the FUSION BIOLINE heparin-coated vascular graft compared with standard ePTFE grafts. Although the ultimate long-term benefit of the graft cannot be ascertained with the data currently available, the utility of the FUSION BIOLINE vascular graft appears promising.