Reconstructive vascular surgery for intermittent claudication.

Over an 8-year period, 140 patients underwent 172 vascular reconstructions (187 reconstructed limbs) to relieve disabling intermittent claudication: bilateral aortoiliac or aortoileofemoral thrombendarterectomy (30 limbs), unilateral iliac or ileofemoral thrombendarterectomy (41 limbs), simultaneous unilateral ileofemoral thrombendarterectomy and femoropopliteal saphenous vein bypass graft (23 limbs), femoropopliteal saphenous vein bypass graft alone (93 limbs). The cumulative 5-year limb patency rates varied between 100 and 85.6% in the four groups. Age and diabetes did not influence patency rates. Only 2 limbs required amputation. These results indicate that reconstruction can be undertaken with a high rate of long-term patency and symptomatic relief In patients with restricting claudication due to aortoiliac, ileofemoral and/or femoropopliteal occlusion.