Short term results of direct arterial surgery for chronic occlusive peripheral vascular disease

Abstract

Occlusive peripheral vascular disease (PVD) due to stenosis or occlusion of arteries is not an uncommon problem in our country. The patients are often young and present with intermittent claudication, rest pain, digit ulceration or gangrene. Conservative management is sometimes helpful but direct arterial surgery, where feasible, gives the best results. This is a report of the initial 25 consecutive PVD patients operated at our institution during a ten-month period beginning January 1994. All patients were males, and the average age at operation was 44 years. The indication for surgery was severe intermittent claudication of limb salvage. Standard operative techniques were employed, and either ePTFE or saphenous vein was utilised as the graft material. Three patients had graft occlusion in the immediate postoperative period necessitating reexploration. Follow-up of up to ten months reveals a patent bypass in all but 2 patients. Shortterm patency rate of 92% has been achieved, and amputation was avoided in 6 months.