Stenosis of the deep femoral artery: an evaluation of the accuracy of single-plane, anteroposterior arteriograms.

Pre-operative evaluation of the deep femoral artery is important in determining surgical treatment of aortofemoral disease. We reviewed 16 years' experience in bilateral aorto-femoral by-pass grafting and found that 63.2% of stenoses of the deep femoral arteries seen at surgery had been missed on conventional antero-posterior arteriograms. These findings demonstrate the inadequacy of a single, antero-posterior projection and the need for supplementary views in assessing lesions of the deep femoral artery.