D. Emerick Szilagyi

A thirty-year survey of the reconstructive surgical treatment of aortoiliac occlusive disease

With the view of assessing functional durability and the factors that influence or determine it, we reviewed the clinical course of 1748 reconstructive operations performed between Jan. 1, 1954, and Dec. 31, 1983 in the treatment of 1647 patients with aortoiliac occlusive disease (AIOD). Disabling intermittent claudication (in 65.6%), ischemic rest pain and/ or pregangrene (in 20.7%), and ischemic gangrene (in 13.7%) were the operative indications. Patency proven by angiography was the criterion of success. Follow-up was continuous and endless and 94% successful over a period of 30 years. Twenty-five percent of the patients were followed up for 11 to 30 years. The incidence of severe degree of occlusive involvement increased significantly from the first (9.3%) to the third (17.1%) decade of observation, whereas the perioperative mortality rate improved markedly from the first (7.4%) to the third (2.5%) decade. The aortobifemoral bypass (AF2B) procedure remained the most popular type of repair (with a perioperative patency rate of 91.4%) throughout, but both it and unilateral reconstructions lost some ground to remote (extra-anatomic) bypasses in the third decade. Atherosclerotic heart disease remained the most common cause of perioperative (50%) and late (60.2%) death. Among the early postoperative local complications graft thrombosis improved markedly from the first (8.3%) to the third (3.2%) decade. Graft infection remained rare (1.6% to 0.8%). The incidence of the most common late wound complication, anastomotic aneurysm at the common femoral level, remained relatively constant (5.7% per anastomosis), but it responded very well to surgical correction. The partial or complete secondary repair of all late complications (26.0%) improved the cumulative late patency rate in the AF2B procedures by 2% to 12% during 20 years of observation. The perioperative (97.3%), 5-year (76.6%), 10-year (76.6%), 15-year (72.5%), and 20-year (67.5%) cumulative patency rates of AF2B operations were highly satisfactory. The postoperative late survival rate of patients with AIOD declined rapidly (59% at 5, 33% at 10, 14% at 15 years). The cause of late death in 60.2% of the cases was atherosclerotic heart disease.

Secondary Arterial Repair: The Management of Late Failures in Reconstructive Arterial Surgery

The incidence and success of secondary operations after reconstructive arterial surgery were studied in a series of 4,247 cases of aneurysmal and occlusive arterial disease. Postoperative complications requiring secondary operations occurred, in order of frequency, as the result of defective healing (including infection), deterioration of the arterial implant, and degenerative arterial changes in the site of surgical intervention. A large variety of surgical techniques were used for correction, such as total replacement, segmental resection and replacement, remote bypass, thrombectomy, and partial excision and reanastomosis. Wth the exception of complications due to infection, the results of repair were good in 60% to 90% of the various categories; only 40% of the infected grafts could be managed without the loss of life or limb. The results appear to justify the trend noted in recent years to a more aggressive use of secondary, salvage operations.

Nephrogenic Hypertension (Goldblatt Kidney) Following Operative Trauma to the Renal Artery

The thrombosis of the right renal artery following operative injury set off a chain of events closely duplicating the arterial hypertension observed by Goldblatt after constriction or occlusion of the renal arteries in experimental animals. The resulting hypertension was severe, fulminating, prolonged, and resistant to treatment by hypotensive and ganglion-blocking agents; it was associated with pulmonary edema, myocardial infarction, and impairment of the renal function. Nephrectomy brought about a return of the blood pressure to normal levels. The concentration of renin in the removed kidney was 34 times greater than normal.

Management of Complications After Arterial Reconstruction

Early complications such as hemorrhage, infection, thrombosis, and neurologic loss are rare. A meticulous follow-up of each patient can help to identify late complications such as graft occlusion, false aneurysm, infection, and recurrence of atherosclerosis at an early stage when secondary surgical intervention is most satisfactory.