Axillofemoral bypass: A tool with a limited role

Abstract

Axillofemoral bypass (AXB) was performed on 100 patients who had claudication (19), pain at rest (42), gangrene or ulcer (22), aortic sepsis (14), or unresectable abdominal aneurysm (3). Unilateral (27 grafts), double unilateral (1), or axillobifemoral (72) grafts with Dacron (58), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) (28), ring-supported Dacron or PTFE (12), or other material (2) were performed by 13 surgeons. Eight patients died within 30 days and three major amputations were necessary. Fifty-two (57%) of the 92 survivors had a total of 92 graft complications during a mean follow-up period of 21.5 months. Thirty-two patients underwent 57 reoperations of various types, incurring an additional three deaths and three amputations. Sixty (65%) of the original 92 survivors of AXB avoided reoperation. The 89 patients who survived the original and repeat procedures were followed up through the end of 1984 (62 patients), to late death (23), or to late graft removal (4), whichever occurred first. At these end points, 83 of the 89 (93%) patients had patent grafts. The graft patency rate of the original 100 AXBs by life table was 54% at 36 months; but with reoperation, it was 72%. Among those patients who left the hospital after AXB, the survival rate at 36 months was 69%. Statistically insignificant trends toward improved early patency were noted with bilateral femoral anastomoses, total iliac occlusion, and less severe ischemia. AXB provided safe palliation of severe arterial disease, with overall graft patency exceeding postoperative patient survival according to life-table analysis. However, the safety of AXB was tempered by frequent complications and the necessity for many reoperations to provide maximum efficacy. AXB should be limited to patients in whom aortic reconstruction is impossible or unduly hazardous or in whom only short-term symptom relief is necessary and should not be regarded simply as a low-risk substitute for aortofemoral bypass.