In situ distal saphenous vein bypass using the intraluminal valve-disruption technique

In the last few years there has been a resurgence of interest in in situ saphenous vein bypass for lower extremity revascularization because of improved patency rates. We performed 28 in situ bypass operations in 26 patients with threatened limbs using the intraluminal Hall valve disrupter. Seventy-five percent of these bypasses were to tibial vessels and had a 93% early patency rate. Three late failures were salvaged before thrombosis of the bypass, resulting in a cumulative patency rate of 93% with a mean follow-up of 17 months. In situ saphenous vein bypass has become our procedure of choice for distal reconstruction in severely ischemic limbs because of improved long-term patency compared with reversed-saphenous vein bypass.