Streptokinase after late failure of reconstructive surgery for peripheral arteriosclerosis

After the failure of reconstructive surgery for arterial occlusions of the lower limbs, 25 patients with severe ischemia were treated with streptokinase (SK) to avoid amputation of the limbs and sometimes death, in the absence of any other possible treatment. In 16 subjects, thrombolysis, assessed by the Doppler ultrasound technique, occurred rapidly; in 12 cases, SK combined with surgery or with symptomatic medical treatment gave good results saving limbs and improving the quality of life. Three of the 16 patients died from a cerebral vascular accident which occurred before the 10th hour. Whatever the type and the number of surgical operations performed before the use of SK, the indications and the results of the treatment are governed by the condition of the vascular tree below the arterial lesions. SK seems to be justified in endarterectomy or venous grafts with severe ischemia less than two months old. For dacron by-passes, the possibility of prosthesis dissection makes SK debatable in spite of frequent lysis. In axillofemoral by-passes, the risk of embolism of the upper limbs makes the use of SK inadvisable.