[Results of arterial reconstruction in Buerger's disease]

One hundred and eight bypass operations for Buerger's disease were performed between November 1976 and August 1990. The bypass procedures, prostheses, cumulative patency rate and the influence of smoking on the results were discussed. Five-year cumulative patency rate of Aorto-femoral bypass was 88.2%. Aorto-femoral bypass should be always indicated as a standard procedure for the iliac lesion in Buerger's disease, because the patency rate was very low in aorto-iliac bypass group or ilio-femoral bypass group. Five-year cumulative patency rate of infrainguinal bypass using autogenous vein was 64.8%, and that in the patients who quit cigarette smoking was as high as to 73.3%. We should use autogenous vein as much as possible for infraiguinal bypass and discontinuance of cigarette smoking is considered to be one of the important factors to improve the patency rate in Buerger's disease.