The use of arm vein in lower-extremity revascularization: Results of 520 procedures performed in eight years

Purpose: The absence of an adequate ipsilateral saphenous vein in patients requiring lower-extremity revascularization poses a difficult clinical dile mma. This study examined the results of the use of autogenous arm vein bypa ss grafts in these patients. Methods: Five hundred twenty lower-extremity revascularization procedures p erformed between 1990 and 1998 were followed prospectively with a computeri zed vascular registry. The arm vein conduit was prepared by using intraoper ative angioscopy for valve lysis and identification of luminal abnormalitie s in 44.8% of cases. Results: Seventy-two (13.8%) femoropopliteal, 174 (33.5%) femorotibial, 29 (5.6%) femoropedal, 101 (19.4%) popliteo-tibial/pedal, and 144 (27.7%) exte nsion "jump'" graft bypass procedures were performed for limb salvage (98.2 %) or disabling claudication (1.8%). The average age of patients was 68.5 y ears (range, 32 to 91 years); 63.1% of patients were men, and 36.9% of pati ents were women. Eighty-five percent of patients patients had diabetes mell itus, and 77% of patients had a recent history of smoking. The grafts were composed of a single arm vein segment in 363 cases (69.8%) and of spliced c omposite vein with venovenostomy in 157 cases (30.2%). The mean follow-up p eriod was 24.9 months (range, 1 month to 7.4 years). Overall patency and Li mb salvage rates for all graft types were: primary patency, 30-day = 97.0% +/- 0.7%, 1-year 1 80.2% +/- 2.1%, 3-year = 68.9% +/- 3.6%, 5-year = 54.5% +/- 6.6%; secondary patency, 30-day - 97.0% +/- 0.7%, 1-year - 80.7% +/- 2. 1%, 3-year = 70.3% +/- 3.4%, 5-year = 57.5% +/- 6.2%; limb salvage, 30-day = 97.6% +/- 0.7%, 1-year = 89.8% +/- 1.7%, 3-year = 82.1% +/- 3.3%, 5-year = 71.5% +/- 6.9%. Secondary patency and limb salvage rates were greatest at 5 years for femoropopliteal grafts (69.8% +/- 12.8%, 80.7% +/- 11.8%), as compared with Femorotibial (59.6% +/- 10.3%, 72.7% +/- 10.5%), femoropedal (54.9% +/- 25.7%, 56.8% +/- 26.9%,) and popliteo-tibial/pedal grafts (39.0% +/- 7.3%, 47.6% +/- 15.4%). The patency rate of composite vein grafts was equal to that of single-vein conduits. The overall survival rate was 54% at 4 years. Conclusion: Autogenous arm vein has been used successfully in a wide variet y of lower-extremity revascularization procedures and has achieved excellen t long- and short-term patency and limb salvage rates, higher than those ge nerally reported for prosthetic or cryopreserved grafts. Its durability and easy accessibility make it an alternative conduit of choice when an adequa te saphenous vein is not available.