Synchronous aortofemoral or iliofemoral bypass with revascularization of the lower extremity

Bypassing aortoiliac stenosing lesions to the profunda femoria alone, even with extensive end-arterectomy and angioplasty of the latter, will not provide predictable excellent results in the presence of gangrene and occlusion in the femoral popliteal system. With severe pregangrene and rest pain, residual ischemic complaints are also common, and if lesions are present, healing is incomplete or, at best, delayed. Alternatively, femoropopliteal or tibial bypass, in the presence of even moderately diminished inflow, is subject to either early or delayed closure, unless proximal repair is also performed in appropriately selected patients. Synchronous correction of tandem lesions involving the aortoiliac and femoropopliteal segments should, therefore, be considered for limb salvage only and particularly in the presence of focal gangrene, excision or debridement of which can be anticipated to heal after successful bypass. Major diminution in femoral inflow usually indicates the need for proximal repair only, even in the presence of distal lesions. Noninvasive studies and intraoperative flow determinations are not uniformly helpful in patient selection. Synchronous aortofemoral or iliofemoral and femoropopliteal or tibial reconstructions were performed upon 38 patients, 15 of whom had no prior vascular operation and 23 of whom had previously undergone either aortofemoral or femoropopliteal bypasses that had failed. Graft patency for all patients was 76 per cent, and although it was better for the patients in group 1 than for those in group 2, no statistical significance existed between the two groups. Improved patient selection and criteria for performing synchronous reconstructions might originally have been of benefit for the patients in group 2, avoiding more difficult secondary repairs. It must be emphasized, however, that synchronous reconstructions should not be done routinely in the presence of multilevel disease. Rather, specific indications do exist and should be considered on an individual basis.