Clinical, hemodynamic, and anatomic follow-up of direct venous reconstruction

Conventional therapy for the advanced clinical stages of the postthrombotic syndrome is associated with recurrence of symptoms and ulcer. Direct venous reconstruction may relieve the symptoms of patients with either iliac vein obstruction or valvular incompetence, but there are few reports detailing late hemodynamic and anatomic findings. We summarized the clinical, hemodynamic, and anatomic follow-up of six patients with saphenofemoral bypass (SFB) and ten patients with axillary vein valve-to-popliteal vein transplants (PVTs) who were followed up for a minimum of two years. All ten ulcers in the PVT group healed and symptoms of venous claudication, limb swelling, and all ulcers healed in the SFB group. Late (greater than 2 years) anatomic and functional assessment showed that the SFB bypasses were patent and the PVTs were both patent and functional.