[Revascularization of supra-aortic trunks from the femoral artery]

A seventy-year-old woman had an occlusion of the left sub-clavian and left primitive, internal and external carotid arteries, combined with a pre-thrombotic stenosis of the brachiocephalic trunk. Lesions were so diffused that a cross extra-anatomic bypass was impossible at the cervical level. There was contraindication for the implantation of a prosthesis on the aortic arch, due to a much extended calcified atheroma which did not allow clamping. Supra-aortic trunk revascularization was done through right femoral-axillary bypass without any post-operative complication. After a four year follow-up, the bypass is still patent. The purpose of this report is to emphasize that such r revascularization, which is rarely reported, must be better known since the implantation of the bypass on the femoral artery leads to patent and durable results.