AORTA‐TO‐PROFUNDA ARTERIAL RECONSTRUCTION

Abstract

Reconstruction of arterial inflow to the profunda femoris artery in the presence of combined superficial femoral artery occlusion and aorto‐iliac arterial involvement has been shown to be an effective procedure for the relief of intermittent claudication, rest pain, and gangrene confined to the foot. The profunda artery is frequently spared in the presence of advanced arterial disease. When it is involved, the disease commonly affects only the first few centimetres. Aorto‐iliac obstruction can be relieved by either endarterectomy or bypass grafting. Disease at the takeoff of the profunda can usually be dealt with by open endarterectomy and patch grafting. There may be a place for transinguinal distal profunda femoris grafting in the presence of complete thrombosis of the first few centimetres of the profunda. The present series shows that the profunda artery is capable of carrying a high flow when reconstructive vascular procedures have been successful, and confirms the clinical benefits of restoring profunda artery blood flow.