Last November, the team from the Angiology and Vascular Surgery Service of the Bellvitge University Hospital (HUB) performed the first implantation in Catalonia of a segment of vein for the treatment of chronic venous insufficiency. The hospital has made it public through a press release, where it has explained how the project has been developed.
It is a multicenter study, led by Dr. Antoni Romera, who is a pioneer worldwide, and which aims to improve the quality of life of patients with venous insufficiency with poor functioning of the valves of the deep venous system.
The uniqueness of the project lies in the manufacture of a personalized venous implant (P-TEV Personalized tissue-engineered vein), a completely biological advanced therapy medication that adapts to each patient.
According to reports from the hospital itself, a segment of a cadaver donor vein containing a functional valve was used in the operation, from which the cellular component was extracted and replaced with cells from the recipient applying a tissue engineering process based on patient’s blood.
Days before surgery, blood was drawn from the recipient patient and the vein was prepared, adapting it biologically. On the day set for the intervention, the personalized venous segment was received and doctors Antoni Romera and Emma Espinar performed the implant on the patient.
The surgery is performed through an inguinal incision, identifying the diseased vein and finally replacing it with the prepared vein that contains a properly functioning valve.
Since last November, the patient’s evolution has been favorable and there has been a clear improvement in his symptoms. Dr. Elena Iborra, head of the Angiology and Vascular Surgery Service at Bellvitge Hospital, highlights that this new tissue engineering procedure “represents an alternative that can change the lives of people with a specific pathology in the femoral vein for which there was no a treatment so far.”
Until now, fifteen surgeries have been carried out throughout the State to perform one of these implants that aim to improve the lives of patients suffering from chronic venous insufficiency.
This project is part of the TECVI-1 clinical trial. This is a study promoted by the Swedish company VERIGRAFT Iberia and coordinated by the Andalusian Network for the Design and Translation of Advanced Therapies (RAdytTA), of the Progreso y Salud Foundation of the Ministry of Health and Consumption of Andalusia, in charge of the manufacturing, coordination and management of the trial. The Autonomous Coordination of Transplants of Andalusia and the Tissue Bank of Córdoba also collaborate.
Chronic venous insufficiency is caused by a failure in the valves of the veins in the legs that make proper blood circulation possible. The damaged valve prevents this correct flow and causes a chronic disease with symptoms ranging from heaviness and swelling of the legs to the appearance of ulcers.
Data published by the UPV (Vascular Pathologies Unit) indicate that chronic venous insufficiency is a common disease in the general population and its prevalence in Spanish adults is 37% in men and 64% in women.
They also highlight that, although its incidence increases with pregnancy and age, it increasingly affects younger patients due mainly to the important genetic component and a more sedentary lifestyle.