Muscle transposition flap for salvage of exposed peripheral prosthetic vascular grafts

Infection of prosthetic vascular grafts, although infrequent, is a dreadful complication in vascular surgery. It is a challenge for the surgeon and is life- and limb-threatening to the patient. Conventionally, infection involving a foreign body is eradicated by removing the foreign body. Despite its theoretical appeal, this solution is fraught with danger--a high mortality rate that ranges between 10% and 30%, a high rate of protracted postoperative morbidity, and a limb amputation rate as high as 70%. The salvage of infected prosthetic vascular grafts by prompt soft-tissue coverage with transposition muscle flaps in 3 consecutive patients treated during a period of 12 years is the subject of this report.