Gender does not impact infrainguinal vein bypass graft outcome

Background. The percentage of women requiring bypass graft operations conti nues to increase, whereas the effect of gender on postoperative outcomes re main unclear. The purpose of this study was to access the influence of gend er of patient selection and outcome in patients requiring infrainguinal vei n bypass grafting procedures. Methods. This retrospective study reviewed 217 infrainguinal vein bypass gr afts performed over an 8-year period. Medical records and patient interview s were used to determine study measures and outcomes. Gender and multiple c ovariables affecting patient survival were analyses were conducted, followe d by multivariable analyses with the Cox proportional hazards model. Results. No statistical differences exist between men and women for age, di abetes, cardiac disease, tobaco use, hypertension, stroke, renal disease, o r prior contralateral bypass or major amputation. Women were more likely to bo black (P = .041) and have a spliced vein graft (P = .035). No differenc es were noted between the 2 groups for 30-day morbidity rates-except women had more incisional complications (P = .01)-or for survival (P = .45), prim ary-patency (P = .57), secondary-patency (P = .79), or limb-salvage rates ( P = .40). Multivariate analysis showed that gender had no role in affecting survival rates. Conclusions. Gender does not affect graft patency, limb salvage, or surviva l rates. There should be no introduction of a gender bias into management o f infrainguinal occlusive disease.