[The conservative treatment of infected vascular prostheses in surgery to revascularize the lower limbs]

Infected vascular grafts are associated with very high rates of limb loss and mortality. "Classic" treatment has invariably included graft excision. Recent reports have suggested that a more conservative approach may be indicated in selected cases, leaving the graft in place and using an aggressive local treatment associated with appropriate intravenous antibiotics. The authors report their experience with two patients with infected prosthetic vascular grafts in the groin. They both had purulent drainage from the groin wound, with the graft exposed close to the femoral anastomosis. They were both treated successfully without graft removal, and both graft maintained patency, with a follow-up of 22 and 19 months.