Aortic graft infections: treatment with arterial allograft

Since its reintroduction by Kieffer in 1991, many authors have used arterial allografts for surgical management of vascular prosthetic graft infection. During a decade, 25 patients with aortic graft infection were treated using in situ revascularization with arterial allograft. There were 23 male and 2 female patients of mean age of 65.7 +/- 8.8 years (range, 43-78). Antibiotic therapy was administered for a mean time of 26 +/- 5 days (range, 21-45) in the postoperative period. The mean follow-up time was 2.3 +/- 3 years (range, 22 days-8.7 years). The mean in-hospital postoperative stay was 29.6 +/- 14 days (range, 9-68). An aorto-enteric fistula (AEF) was present in 11 patients (44%), producing gastrointestinal bleeding. The overall mortality rate was 13 of 23 (56.5%) patients. The allograft-related mortality rate was 5 of 23 (22%). The overall allograft-complicated patient rate was 15 of 23 (65%); we observed 18 allograft ruptures in 12 patients and 8 allograft thromboses in 6 patients. The overall amputation rate was 8.7% (2 of 23). Age of the recipient older than 69 years (P = .02), positive preoperative marked-leukocyte scanning (P = .04), and persistent postoperative leukocytosis (P = .03) were significant variables associated with an increased risk of allograft-related complications. The use of arterial allografts for aortic graft infections represents an interesting alternative for the treatment of graft infection. Nevertheless, there are some problems related to the durability of this type of graft, which can still be considered as a "bridge transplant."