Arteriovenous shunts in free vascularized tissue transfer for extremity reconstruction

Local vessels are occasionally unsatisfactory donor choices for vascularized tissue transfer in extremity reconstruction. Construction of a temporary arteriovenous loop facilitates not only tension-free anastomoses outside the zone of injury but also affords vascular distention at physiological pressures, an opportunity to verify vein graft patency before tissue transfer, and presumably a decrease in the ischemia time of the vein graft itself. We reviewed the cases of 25 consecutive patients who underwent upper and lower extremity reconstruction facilitated by temporary arteriovenous shunts. In single-stage procedures, greater or lesser saphenous veins were used; the venous end was left in situ in its bed in 17 patients and the entire vein harvested freely in 8. The most common destination was the leg (11), followed by the thigh (7), foot (2), sacrum (2), knee (1), arm (1), and forearm (1). There were three (12%) failures. We conclude that construction of temporary arteriovenous shunts using vein grafts is a productive adjunctive technique in vascularized tissue transfer where additional pedicle length is needed.