Randomized prospective study of angioscopically assisted in situ saphenous vein grafting

A study was conducted to test the hypothesis that angioscopically assisted valve lysis and vein branch identification during in situ saphenous vein bypass would reduce technical causes of graft failure, local operative morbidity, and hospital stay.

Patients requiring primary bypass to an infrageniculate artery were randomly assigned to undergo in situ saphenous vein bypass with valvulotomy and branch identification either under angioscopic visualization with use of short intermittent incisions (scope) or under direct vision with use of a continuous incision (no scope). Data on operative details, morbidity, hospital length of stay, and graft patency were collected prospectively and compared.

Fifty-nine patients were enrolled (32 scope, 27 no scope). There were no significant differences between study groups in the incidence of diabetes, claudication versus critical ischemia indications for surgery, or popliteal versus infrapopliteal location of distal anastomoses. Rates of wound complications (9.3% and 3.7%), early graft occlusion (6.2% and 7.4%), and mean postoperative hospital stay (8.0 and 8.6 days) were statistically similar for the scope and no scope groups, respectively. Differences in cumulative secondary patency rates at 48 months (79% scope, 91% no scope) were also insignificant.

Use of angioscopy to assist with preparation of the in situ vein for infrageniculate grafting appears to have no impact on local operative morbidity, hospital length of stay, or midterm graft patency.