We encountered 12 patients with 18 anastomotic aneurysms (AA) between November 1976 and October 1989. Ten of them were arteriosclerosis obliterans (ASO) and 2 were Behcet disease. The interval from initial. operation to reoperation was 65.1±24.0 months in ASO and 7.5±3.0 months in Behcet disease. In ASO, there were no abnormal findings in the prostheses and sutures, whereas the host artery at the anastomotic site widened and weakened. Because the incidence of AA after aortofemoral bypass was much higher in the case with poor run-off at the anastomotic site, it seems to be reasonable to add a distal bypass in the case with poor run-off. In Behcet disease, since AA frequently occurred within the short interval in which anti-inflammatory drugs were given, the arterial reconstruction should be carefully indicated.

From November 1976 to December 1991, we performed extra anatomic bypass procedures (EAB) in 100 cases with aortoiliac occlusive disease. The operative procedures included 26 axillo-femoral bypasses (Ax-F), 27 femoro-femoral bypasses (F-F) and 47 aorto-femoro-femoral bypasses (Ao-F-F). The average age was 75.8 years in Ax-F and 73.8 years in F-F. These were significantly higher than that of Ao-F-F (70.8 years). In addition, the rate of limb salvage in Ax-F was 85%, and this group had more critical cases than the other two groups. The cumulative primary patency rate and survival rate at 5 years were 64.4%, 20.8% (Ax-F), 65.9%, 51.1% (F-F) and 96.5%, 70.4% (Ao-F-F) respectively. The late results of Ao-F-F were comparable to direct aorto-femoral bypass procedures performed in our institution during the same period. On the contrary, the results of Ax-F and F-F were discouraging. We suggest that EAB should be selected for high risk, limb salvage cases and in particular, Ax-F and F-F should be limited to patients with nonphysical acting. We are opposed to appealing for an extended indications of EAB and it should not be regarded simply as a low-risk substitute for aorto-femoral bypass.

Vascular trauma of the upper extremities is rare. We have successfully treated a case of laceration of the right subclavian artery induced by chest injury. A 45-year-old man with blunt trauma was admitted and angiography revealed laceration of the right subclavian artery. The injured area was exposed by a median sternal approach. The right common carotid-subclavian artery bypass was successfully performed with autogenous vein graft in less than three hours from admission. He recovered without any neurological deficit or functional disability and returned to his former occupation.

In the last decade, 78 patients received operations for abdominal aortic aneurysms with a transperitoneal approach (TP) while in 82 patients we used an extraperitoneal approach (EP). Forty-two patients in the TP group and 40 in the EP group who required no concurrent repair of the inferior mesenteric artery, renal artery or lower extremity arteries were compared. There was no difference between the two groups in mean operative time, mean amount of intraoperative bleeding or mean amount of required homologous blood transfusion. The mean interval after surgery to beginning peroral alimentation and the mean duration of postoperative fluid therapy were significantly shorter in the EP group than in the TP group. An extraperitoneal approach for abdominal aortic reconstruction is preferable for an early postoperative recovery.

We report two cases of an abdominal aortic aneurysm, one with congestive heart failure, and the other with a dissecting aortic aneurysm (type IIIb), who underwent an aorto-bifemoral bypass operation under a temporary external axillofemoral bypass. In one patient (Case 1, a 74-year-old male), who had an abdominal aortic aneurysm with congestive heart failure due to aortic valve insufficiency and stenosis, perioperative transesophageal echocardiography demonstrated that, with a temporary external axillofemoral bypass, the regurgitant doppler signal was unchanged during the cross-clamping period of the abdominal aorta. In the other patient (Case 2, a 71-year-old male), who had a dissecting thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm with the lower abdominal aorta having a true aneurysm formation, the transesophageal echocardiography demonstrated that, with a temporary external axillofemoral bypass, the false lumen of the dissecting thoracic aneurysm had no change in size during the cross-clamping period of the abdominal aorta. Thus, a temporary external axillofemoral bypass might avoid any unfavorable hemodynamic effect during and after the abdominal aortic clamping in patients suffering from an abdominal aortic aneurysm with cardiovascular complications.