Morphological aspects of the aortofemoral graft thrombosis

Sixty seven patients underwent aorto-femoral double velour grafting for aortoiliac occlusive disease and 38 patients were treated for recurrent lower limb ischemia following aortofemoral grafting. Apart from various clinical examinations the patients underwent angiography as well as the morphological investigation of specimens obtained from abdominal aortae, common femoral arteries and from grafts implanted into the aorto-femoral section. The examinations showed that diffuse intimal thickening may, in the course of atherosclerosis, convert itself into uncomplicated fibrous and further into complicated plaques impairing mainly graft outflow. The drawbacks of grafts are: 1) persistens of fibrin deposits on the luminal surface of the prosthesis which may contribute to thrombosis development, 2) appearance of foci or bands of hyalinized connective tissue causing the stiffening of the graft, 3) development of lesions resembling atheromatous changes at the anastomotic areas and, 4) anastomotic hyperplasia which may contribute to stenosis at the femoral implantation site.