New concepts in the use of axillofemoral bypass grafts

Over a four-year period, 52 patients underwent axillofemoral bypass operations. Indications for operation were divided into three groups: those that were performed emergently (aortoenteric fistula, graft infection, and leaking aortic aneurysm), those performed electively for aneurysm, and those for ischemia. Operative procedures were categorized as follows: axillofemoral bypass alone, axillofemorofemoral bypass with the proximal femorofemoral anastomosis being graft to graft, or axillofemorofemoral bypass with the femorofemoral anastomosis to either a transected proximal common femoral artery or superficial femoral artery distal to the axillofemoral anastomosis. Thirty-three percent of the unilateral axillofemoral grafts failed, while only 14% of the axillobifemoral grafts failed. There was a further difference between the two methods of femorofemoral grafting with 22% failure in the former group but no failures in the latter.     

Treatment of leaking gastrojejunostomy after gastric bypass surgery with special emphasis on stenting

BackgroundGastric bypass is one of the most common operations for morbid obesity. One of the most feared complications is a leak, most commonly encountered in the gastrojejunal anastomosis (GJA), leading to significant morbidity and increased costs. Our objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of stenting leaks in the GJA. The setting was a university hospital in Stockholm, Sweden.MethodsWe performed a retrospective analysis of all gastric bypasses from January 2001 to August 2011, with special reference to the treatment of leaks in the GJA.ResultsA postoperative leak in the GJA occurred in 69 of 2214 patients. The risk was greater with open surgery and revisional surgery. The risk was also greater with age >50 years but not with a body mass index >50 kg/m². There was no mortality. In the later part of the series, stents were used, with a stent time of 2 weeks. The migration rate was 23%, and need for restenting was 20%.ConclusionIt is safe and advantageous to use stents in the treatment of leaks at the GJA. Patients can be on oral nutrition and oral medication, reducing the need for in-hospital care.     

Preferential use of ePTFE for above-knee femoropopliteal bypass grafts

We have used polytetrafluoroethylene preferentially for bypasses to the above-knee popliteal artery since 1979. Since this approach has recently been challenged, we reviewed our experience with 138 grafts in 128 patients. The majority (74%) of patients were male with a mean age of 63.2 years. Risk factors included: smoking (85%), hypertension (55%), diabetes mellitus (45%), and coronary artery disease (41%). The indications for operation were disabling claudication (18%), rest pain (42%), gangrene/tissue loss (33%), and miscellaneous (7%). Perioperative (30 day) mortality was 3% and morbidity (excluding amputation or graft failure) was 5%. Patients were followed for up to eight years with a mean follow-up of 22.1 months. Grafts which remained patent, but did not prevent major amputation, were classified as failed. Primary patency was 75% at one year and 54% at five years. Limb salvage was 88% at one year and 70% at five years. Risk factors, indication for operation and arteriographic runoff had no statistically significant impact on short- or long-term patency. However, bypass grafts to isolated popliteal segments had a significantly (p=0.025) increased perioperative failure rate compared to all other grafts. Our data support the continued use of polytetrafluoroethylene for above-knee femoropopliteal bypass except perhaps in patients who require grafting to an isolated popliteal segment where higher early failure rates were seen.     

Interdependence of clinical and isokinetic results after bicondylar knee prostheses with special emphasis on quality of life results

Nineteen patients were examined at an average follow-up of 2 years after total knee joint replacement without patella resurfacing. They were compared with 22 healthy subjects of the same age. Using the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) score the operated knee joints scored an average of 77 points, the contralateral side scored 87 points and the control group 97 points. In the SF-36 health questionnaire the patients showed highly significant deviations. Isokinetic measurements revealed a clear loss of isokinetic strength of more than 50% on average in flexion as in extension when compared to the control group and there were considerable asymmetries between the operated and the contralateral legs.     

The use of arm veins in femoral-popliteal bypass grafts.

In view of the increasing debate as to the best alternative to saphenous vein for femoral popliteal bypass grafts, we present our experience with the use of arm vein grafts. Though there are many anecdotal reports, only one series has been previously published. Arm veins were used when saphenous vein was unavailable in 18 femoral popliteal or femoral tibial bypass grafts. Eighty-three per cent of the patients were diabetic. Ninety-four per cent of the patients were operated on for limb salvage, and in 67% the arteriograms showed only fair to poor run-off. Despite this, the one year patency rate was 82%, which is significantly better than the sixty-nine per cent one year patency rate reported by the senior author in an earlier series using cloth grafts. In view of these good results, we believe that autogenous vein remains the material of choice in femoral popliteal bypass grafts. We do not feel that expanded polytetrafluoroethylene grafts or umbilical vein grafts have yet been shown to be superior. We emphasize also the special techniques that are required when using arm veins.     

Organ transplantation with special emphasis on Cyclosporin A

The history of organ transplantation and the development of immunosuppression therapy were discussed in detail, starting from Medawar's acquired immunological tolerance theory. The current status of transplantation of organs including the kidney, heart, liver and pancreas was reviewed. Current concepts of immunosuppression were discussed, with special emphasis on the use of Cyclosporin A.     

Is the preferential use of polytetrafluoroethylene grafts for femoropopliteal bypass justified?

The objective of this review is to analyze the long-term results of femoropopliteal bypass done preferentially with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) grafts in patients who presumably had saphenous vein available. The results are analyzed according to preoperative variables in an attempt to determine those instances in which PTFE grafts may be preferred for the first reconstruction and to identify those patients who benefited from vein preservation. From 1979 to 1985, 146 femoropopliteal bypass operations were performed in 120 patients with 6 mm PTFE grafts used preferentially. The results with follow-up at 5 years are analyzed by actuarial methods. The patency rate at hospital discharge was 100%. The overall primary patency rate at 5 years was 57%. Reconstructions above the knee (101) and below the knee (45) had significantly different 5-year patency rates (63% vs 44%, p less than 0.03). Sixty-two reconstructions done to alleviate disabling claudication had a 5-year primary patency rate of 69% and no amputations. Eighty-one reconstructions were done to treat critical ischemia with a 5-year patency rate of 49% and a 5-year foot salvage rate of 73%. When secondary operations were required to treat graft failures, the 4-year cumulative patency rate of the secondary reconstruction was 18% when performed with a prosthetic graft, in contrast to 70% when performed with the spared saphenous vein. We conclude that femoropopliteal reconstruction with PTFE grafts is a reasonable alternative for older patients with disabling claudication. Patients with critical ischemia will likely benefit from preservation of the vein with initial femoropopliteal reconstruction done with PTFE. Staged infrainguinal revascularization for foot salvage may improve present results. In this regard the sequence PTFE-then-vein carries a higher predicted patency rate than the sequence vein-then-PTFE.     

Organ transplantation with special emphasis on Cyclosporin A

The history of organ transplantation and the development of immunosuppression therapy were discussed in detail, starting from Medawar's acquired immunological tolerence theory. The current status of transplantation of organs including the kidney, heart, liver and pancreas was reviewed. Current concepts of immunosuppression were discussed, with special emphasis on the use of Cyclosporin A. This paper was presented at the 84th Annual Meeting of the Japan Surgical Society, March 1984, Kyoto, Japan.     

Nephrology in Latin America,with special emphasis on Brazil

Latin America constitutes a complex universe that shows extreme variation regarding socioeconomic and human development. Brazil is the largest and most populous Latin American country, and combines characteristics encountered in developed countries with problems typically associated with the poorest regions of the world. These disparities condition the profile of renal disease in Brazil, with glomerulonephritis still the leading cause of ESRD. Little is known about the epidemiology of renal disease in the Brazilian (or Latin American) native population, which is numerous in some Central and South American countries, but constitute a very small minority in Brazil. However, interesting information has been obtained from the Yanomamis, a tribe living in Northern Brazil and Southern Venezuela. Hypertension is virtually absent among these people, who ingest very little sodium, lending strong support to the concept that sodium retention, a "civilization" factor, plays a role in the pathogenesis of arterial hypertension. Despite Brazil's striking socioeconomic disparities, access to RRT is in principle accessible to all those in need of it. The dialysis units have been modernized in recent years, whereas the Government covers most expenses related to RRT. However, the prevalence of RRT in Brazil is currently approximately 320 per million population, less than one third as high as in the US, suggesting that ESRD may be underdiagnosed in the country. Much effort is still needed to limit the prevalence of renal disease and to improve the quality and the reach of RRT in Brazil and in Latin America.     

Arthroscopy in children, with special emphasis on meniscal lesions

Seventy-six children under 16 years of age (mean age 14.5) underwent diagnostic arthroscopy of the knee. Seventeen were examined under local anaesthesia as outpatients. The referring doctors suspected a meniscal lesion in 25 cases, but in only 6 of these was the diagnosis confirmed. The surgeon's diagnosis was verified in 9 out of 31 cases; unsuspected lesions of both menisci in one knee make a total of 10 patients with meniscal lesions (10 knees, 11 menisci). The most frequent lesion found was rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament (12). Because of the arthroscopy, three minor meniscal lesions could be observed without treatment, and no menisci were totally removed. In two cases an arthrotomy would have been done on the wrong side of the knee if the operation had not been preceded by arthroscopy. Fifteen arthroscopic operations were done but only three for meniscal lesions.     

Experience with heparin-bonded collagen-coated grafts for infrainguinal bypass.

The perfect conduit for infrainguinal reconstructive surgery does not exist. When autologous vein is not available, then a prosthetic graft must be used. The use of a heparin-bonded graft has the theoretical advantage of reducing smooth muscle cell proliferation and thrombus formation, thereby reducing occlusion rates. The application of a collagen layer to the external surface of the graft serves to reduce transfabric haemorrhage. Forty-six patients underwent 47 infrainguinal reconstructions using heparin-bonded collagen-coated Dacron grafts over a 4-year period. Twenty grafts were for disabling claudication and 27 for critical ischaemia. Twenty-two grafts were to the above knee popliteal artery (47%), 10 to the below knee popliteal (21%) and 15 to one of the crural vessels (32%). There was a cumulative patency at 4 years of 69% for the above knee grafts, and 30-month patency of 58% and 45% for the below knee and crural grafts, respectively. There were three deaths over the study period and eight patients required major amputations.     

Methylthioninium chloride: pharmacology and clinical applications with special emphasis on nitric oxide mediated vasodilatory shock during cardiopulmonary bypass

Vasodilatory shock after cardiopulmonary bypass is a common complication requiring treatment with high doses of inotropes and prolonged stays in the intensive care unit. The vasodilatory shock is initiated by an inflammatory response to the extracorporeal circuit. The inflammatory response results in endothelial synthesis and release of nitric oxide resembling the clinical features observed in vasodilatory shock caused by septicaemia. During vasodilatory shock, the inhibition of nitric oxide synthase and the nitric oxide/cyclic guanylyl monophosphate pathway is an attractive adjunct to therapy with traditional inotropes. Methylthioninium chloride inhibits nitric oxide/cyclic guanylyl monophosphate mediated vasodilation and can successfully be used as a supplement in the treatment of vasodilatory shock associated with cardiopulmonary bypass. The application of methylthioninium chloride in septicaemia has not produced comparable positive clinical results.     

Subcutaneous arteriovenous fistulas for dialysis with special emphasis on vascular insufficiency.

Ninety-four subcutaneous arterio-venous fistulas were created for haemodialysis in 83 patients. Seventy-one patients eventually received well-functioning fistulas. The most common complication was thrombosis at the suture line. Thus, 8 primary fistulas clotted within 24 hours of surgery and 5 clotted later. Eleven patients were reoperated with a successful result in six. One patient developed arterial insufficiency in the hand with finger ulcerations, probably due to a radial steal syndrome. Four patients got extremely swollen hands and threatening gangraena because of thrombosis of the vein proximally to the anastomosis. Vital capillary microscopy in the patients with vascular insufficiency demonstrated profound changes of the nutritional capillaries which were not seen in control patients with well-functioning fistulas. After closure of the fistulas the edema disappeared and the ulcerations healed rapidly.     

The use of electromagnetic flow measurements for detection of early stenosis in aortocoronary bypass grafts

The value of electromagnetic flow measurements for the detection of graft stenosis during aortocoronary bypass and subsequent prevention of early closure by reimplantation of the graft was assessed. Postoperative angiograms were studied in 102 grafts in 55 patients in whom flow was measured during operation. Patients with recurrent angina or insufficient improvement after operation were selected to include many early occluded grafts; 30 grafts became occluded within six months. Applying a criterion of acceptable specificity based on flow pattern analysis, only 6 grafts were found to be abnormal immediately after implantation. It appears that in most instances, early closure is caused by a process of scar tissue formation which takes several months to develop completely. As a rule, the graft is patent after implantation and flow pattern analysis has nothing to offer. The value of flow pattern analysis during operation for the prevention of early closure is limited, and its value for the prediction of long-term prognosis of the grafts remains to be evaluated.