Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009 Aug;38(2):172-9.
doi: 10.1016/j.ejvs.2009.03.009. Epub 2009 Apr 11.

A 10-year experience of using femoro-popliteal vein for re-vascularisation in graft and arterial infections

Affiliations
Free article

A 10-year experience of using femoro-popliteal vein for re-vascularisation in graft and arterial infections

O Ehsan et al. Eur J Vasc Endovasc Surg. 2009 Aug.
Free article

Abstract

Background: Infected prosthetic grafts and mycotic aneurysms carry a high mortality and morbidity rate, with a substantial risk of persistent graft infection, but there is evidence that this can be minimised by using femoro-popliteal vein for arterial reconstruction after debridement and graft excision. We present our 10-year experience of this technique.

Methods: Forty-six patients underwent 48 arterial reconstructions with femoro-popliteal vein (24 aortic). Six had mycotic aneurysms (three aortic) and 40 had graft infections (16 aortic).

Results: There were two early postoperative deaths (4.3%) and two patients with pre-existing ischaemia underwent major amputation despite a patent graft. Median follow-up was 4.1 ears (range: 2 months to 10 years). Patient survival was 70% and limb salvage 96% at 5 years. Primary graft patency was 75% and 62% and secondary patency 93% and 91% at 2 and 5 years, respectively. Two patients required further surgery for recurrent infection. Anastomotic or graft stenosis occurred in 11 patients (24%). There were three major wound infections. Donor-limb swelling was transient.

Conclusion: For arterial and prosthetic graft infections, femoro-popliteal vein is an excellent conduit for vascular reconstruction after drainage and debridement of infected tissue and graft material under antibiotic cover, providing good long-term survival and limb salvage.

PubMed Disclaimer

MeSH terms

Substances

LinkOut - more resources