Hemodynamic comparison of microsurgical repairs for large arterial defects

Twenty-eight femoral arteries in 14 rats were used to compare transverse closures and end-to-end anastomoses in blood vessels approximately 1 mm in diameter. The transverse closures were applied to arteriectomies created by excising one-half the circumference of the vessel over a length of 1 mm. The end-to-end anastomoses were performed after resecting a 1-mm segment. Recordings were made of pre- and postrepair flow velocity and three-point diameter measurements every 5 minutes using a 20-MHz pulsed Doppler velocimeter and digimatic caliper. Maximum reductions in flow velocity were 18% and 31% for the transverse repair and end-to-end anastomosis, respectively. Otherwise, intergroup comparisons of the postrepair normalization of both flow velocity and vessel diameter showed few significant differences (P < 0.05). We conclude that arterial defects involving no more than half the diameter of the vessel can be effectively repaired in significantly less time using the transverse closure.