Outcome of unreconstructed chronic critical leg ischaemia

Objective:To assess the outcome of unreconstructed chronic critical leg ischaemia with a special reference to the definition of CLI.Design and Setting:A retrospective study with 1 year follow-up in an academic referral centre (Fourth Department of Surgery, Helsinki University Central Hospital).Material:105 consecutive unreconstructed patients with 136 critically ischaemic legs as defined by the European Consensus Document on Chronic Critical Leg Ischaemia.Main outcome measures:Major amputations and mortality.Results:81% of the 136 critically ischaemic legs survived 1 month, 70% three months and 54% one year. Of the 105 patients 93%, 77% and 46% were alive at 1, 3 and 12 months, respectively, whereas survival of patients with nonamputated leg was only 71%, 56% and 28%. Patients with bilateral CLI had a worse prognosis in terms of survival and leg salvage. The leg outcome was not worsened by the presence of diabetes nor by the distal extent of arterial changes.Conclusion:Although the selection of the present material is likely to cause some bias, unreconstructed CLI seemed to predict a very poor outcome in terms of survival and limb salvage

Deep infection of infrapopliteal autogenous vein grafts—Immediate use of muscle flaps in leg salvage

AbstractPurpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of an aggressive management of infrapopliteal autogenous vein graft infection. Methods: Among 341 consecutive infrapopliteal autogenous vein bypass grafts performed at the Helsinki University Central Hospital, 14 patients (4%) had infragenicular wound infection that involved the vein graft. Six of these patients had graft rupture and bleeding. An extensive débridement was performed in all patients. Seven of the grafts had to be partially removed and replaced. The wound and the graft immediately were covered with local muscle flaps in 4 patients and with free muscle flaps in 10 patients. Results: One patient died, and another patient underwent above-knee amputation as a result of a persistent infection and necrosis of the local muscle flap during the 30-day postoperative period. No graft rupture occurred after the treatment of the infected conduit. Graft occlusion occurred in 4 patients who underwent regrafting because of graft rupture and in 1 patient with an infected intact conduit. One patient underwent amputation 15 months later because of an uncontrollable infection despite a patent graft and a functioning flap. At the 1-month, 6-month, 1-year, and 2-year follow-up periods, the leg salvage rates were 92%, 75%, 55%, and 44%, respectively. At the same intervals, 92%, 92%, 70%, and 70% of the patients survived and 85%, 68%, 34%, and 34% of the patients were alive without the loss of their legs. Conclusion: Radical surgical débridement and immediate muscle flap coverage seem to offer an effective alternative method to preserve an infected infrapopliteal autogenous vein graft and to achieve leg salvage. Poor results are expected when a regrafting procedure is necessary for the rupture of an infected vein graft. (J Vasc Surg 1998;28:611-6.

Intraoperative flow predicts the development of stenosis in infrainguinal vein grafts

AbstractObjective: There are data to suggest that the development of myointimal hyperplasia is affected by long-term alterations in blood flow. However, the clinical relevance of these findings has not been demonstrated. Methods: In this retrospective clinical study, intraoperative volume flow measurement with transit time flowmeter was performed in 257 infrainguinal vein grafts carried out in 241 patients. The patients were enrolled in an intensive duplex scanning–based surveillance program. The relationship between the intraoperative graft flow and subsequent occlusion or development of stenosis was evaluated and controlled for other pertinent risk factors. Results: The median follow-up time was 13.6 months. A graft stenosis was found in 58 grafts. The mean graft flow for event-free grafts was 98 mL/min, which was significantly higher compared with 78 mL/min for stenosed or 69 mL/min for occluded grafts. The patients were divided into four groups according to quartiles of the sample distribution of graft flow measurements. The respective 2-year primary and assisted primary patency rates in the lowest to the highest graft flow groups were 39%, 49%, 47%, and 72% (P =.003) and 55%, 67%, 71%, and 84% (P =.01). Analogous significant differences were observed for maximal flow capacity measurements. Female sex (P =.009) and low graft flow in maximal flow capacity measurements (P =.003) were independent predictors of stenosis development in the multiple regression model. Conclusion: Intraoperative graft volume flow is a predictor of bypass occlusion after infrainguinal bypass. In addition, this study verifies an association between the development of clinically evident graft stenoses and low graft flow. (J Vasc Surg 2001;34:269-76.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Internal Jugular Veins in Multiple Sclerosis : Interobserver Agreement and Comparison with Doppler Ultrasound Examination

Background: Doppler ultrasound (US) has been widely used to evaluate the cervical venous system of multiple sclerosis patients according to the hypothesis of chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency with contradictory results. Venous anatomy and pathology can be examined with less operator-dependent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Our aim is to assess the interobserver agreement in measuring internal jugular vein (IJV) cross-sectional area (CSA) in MR images and to explore the agreement between US and MRI in the detection of calibers of Methods: Thirty-seven multiple sclerosis patients underwent MRI of the cervical venous system. Two independent neuroradiologists measured the CSA of IJV at the mid-thyroid level. Furthermore, the time from contrast enhancement of common carotid arteries to that of each IJV (transit time in seconds) was assessed, and recorded whether IJV or the vertebral plexus visualized first during the contrast passage. US examination had been performed earlier. Results: Interobserver agreement for assessing IJV CSA in MR images was substantial: the measurements differed >0.5 cm(2) between the examiners in only 5 IJVs (7%), Cohen's kappa 0.79. Transit times from common carotid artery to IJV varied between 5.1 and 14.1 sec. Fifteen patients had left-to-right asymmetry in the speed of IJV contrast filling. IJV CSA Conclusions: Interobserver agreement at the thyroid level of the IJV was good at MRI measurements. The US defines more IJVs as narrow (CSAPeer reviewe