REOPERATIONS, REDO SURGERY AND OTHER INTERVENTIONS CONSTITUTE MORE THAN 1 3 OF VASCULAR-SURGERY - A STUDY FROM SWEDVASC (THE SWEDISH-VASCULAR-REGISTRY)/

Objectives: To describe the incidence of reoperations within 30 days, later redo procedures, and other interventions after vascular procedur es. Design: Analysis of vascular procedures prospectively recorded in The Swedvasc Registry. Materials and Methods: From 1987 to 1991, 8089 primary interventions were done for acute ischaemia, elective and emer gency aortic aneurysms, intermittent claudication, critical leg ischae mia and carotid artery stenosis. Subsequent arterial surgery was ident ified until the end of 1995. Results: Of an additional 4927 procedures , 24.1% were performed within 30 days of the first operation, 29.6% du ping the remaining first year, and 14.1%, 10.5% and 8.5% during the fo llowing 3 years, respectively. Thus, 15.5-41.5% of patients, depending on the indication, had further vascular surgery within a 4-year perio d. After operations for acute ischaemia or emergency aortic aneurysms, half of the reinterventions weve performed within 30 days. In claudic ation, critical ischaemia, and after carotid endarterectomy, reinterve ntions peaked later during the first postoperative year. At 4 years th e proportion without repeated surgery was 69%, patient survival 59% an d event-free survival 39%. Conclusions: The considerable risk of reint ervention after vascular procedures, and the limited life expectancy o f patients, should be considered in treatment decisions for vascular d isease.