In situ distal saphenous vein bypass using the intraluminal valve-disruption technique
C. W. Acher and W. D. Turnipseed
In the last few years there has been a resurgence of interest in in situ
saphenous vein bypass for lower extremity revascularization because of
improved patency rates. We performed 28 in situ bypass operations in 26
patients with threatened limbs using the intraluminal Hall valve disrupter.
Seventy-five percent of these bypasses were to tibial vessels and had a 93%
early patency rate. Three late failures were salvaged before thrombosis of
the bypass, resulting in a cumulative patency rate of 93% with a mean
follow-up of 17 months. In situ saphenous vein bypass has become our
procedure of choice for distal reconstruction in severely ischemic limbs
because of improved long-term patency compared with reversed-saphenous vein
bypass.
