COMPARATIVE-STUDY BETWEEN ACUTE INTRAOPERATIVE ARTERIAL ELONGATION AND THE USE OF THE INTERPOSITIONAL VEIN GRAFT FOR ARTERIAL RECONSTRUCTION

This study compares the acute intraoperative arterial elongation techn ique with the interposition vein-graft method for the closure of small arterial gaps that cannot be repaired by undermining alone. Ten condi tioned female mongrel dogs were divided into two groups: a vein graft interposition group and an acute expansion-elongation group. In ten ca ses, a 25-mm segment of the superficial femoral artery was excised. Th e resultant defect, measuring 45 to 60 mm, was repaired by an interpos itional graft of a comparable size segment of the superficial femoral vein. In ten other cases, a same-size defect was repaired by a tension -free end-to-end anastomosis, following acute intraoperative arterial elongation. The animals were explored at various intervals. Overall re sults revealed a 100 percent patency rate with the acute expansion-elo ngation group vs. 80 percent with the vein-graft interposition group. The versatility, time saving, and ease of technique, plus previous cli nical experience, is encouraging enough to recommend this method for t he sound repair of small arterial defects in clinical cases.