Arterial occlusive disease of the upper extremity

Twenty-five upper extremities were operated upon in 24 patients because of arterial occlusive disease. Transthoracic endarterectomy was performed in 4 patients with short central occlusions of the subclavian artery. In the remaining patients, various bypass procedures were performed using reversed autogenous veins or prosthetic grafts. There were 2 early and 6 late deaths. One prosthetic graft had to be removed 2 months after the operation because of infection. At follow-up, 9 months to 17 years after surgery, 11 bypass grafts were patent. One vein graft and one prosthetic graft had occluded. The surgical technique, types of graft to be used, and the relation to long-term patency are briefly discussed.