| Abstrakt: |
INTRODUCTION Autogenous vein is the best replacement for injured arteries distal to the groin or clavicle when primary anastomosis cannot be accomplished without excessive tension or sacrifice of collaterals. Our experience with 18 cases illustrates some of the problems and the factors essential for success. MaterialEighteen consecutive vein grafts by the authors or their residents are reported in Table 1. Five of these cases have been previously reported.2,3 During the same period, 139 other arterial injuries in the same hospitals were repaired by primary end-to-end anastomoses, or other techniques, and were the subject of previous reports.2,3,9-11Vein grafts were performed in these cases because primary anastomosis of the debrided ends of the artery was not feasible without excessive tension. Indeed, vein grafts were needed in four of these cases because primary anastomoses had thrombosed or disrupted (Table 1, cases 5, 6, 15, and 17). The vein grafts |
