Minimally invasive in situ bypass.

Since the report of a successful femoropopliteal in situ saphenous vein bypass in 1962, surgeons have attempted to make this bypass a less invasive operation and simplify the two principal technical components of the operation: (1) rendering the saphenous vein valves incompetent and (2) occluding the venous side branches. To accomplish this bypass, however, a long incision that is the length of the leg over the course of the saphenous vein is often necessary, which can be fraught with hazard, especially in patients with diabetes in whom wound complications can be devastating. An angioscopically assisted technique that allows the surgeon to perform valvulotomy and occlude venous side branches from within the saphenous vein--a minimally invasive in situ vein bypass--has been developed. This article discusses preclinical, fluoroscopic clinical, and angioscopic clinical studies of minimally invasive in situ bypass.