Anatomy of arm veins: Significance for vein valve transplantation

Abstract

Vein valve transplantation is a recently described operation to treat the sequelae of lower extremity venous hypertension resulting from valvular dysfunction. The operation involves harvesting a segment of an arm vein contianing a competent valve and transplanting it into a lower extremity vein. To determine the optimal incisions for obtaining a suitable valve-containing segment of vein, 20 cadaver arms were dissected. Cephalic, basilic, and brachial veins were examined for size, distribution of valves, and presence of tandem valves (defined as valves separated by 2 cm or less). Because patency rates are low in vascular grafts < 4 mm in diameter, only veins of this size or greater were considered adequate for transplantation. Cephalic veinswere found to have a consistently smaller diameter than basilic or brachial veins (P < 0.0001). Incisions for exposure of the basilic and brachial veins were evaluated. When exposure was limited to the middle third of the arm, an adequate vein, either the basilic or one of the brachial veins, was found in all cases. When either the distal or proximal third of the arm was exposed, however, an adequate vein was found in only 70% of the cases (P < 0.02). Tandem valves, although potentially useful, were present in only 5%, 25%, and 20%, respectively, of distal, middle, and proximal arm segments. Based on the results of this study, a medial incision along the middle third of the arm, exposing a basilic or brachial vein, is recommended as the optimal approach for vein harvesting in vein valve transplantation.