[Results of the use of a new vascular prosthesis "Vitaflon" in patients with critical ischemia of the lower limbs].

A new Russian vascular artificial prosthesis from porous PTFE ("Vitaflon") was used in 39 cases of different obliterative arteriopathy in the critical ischemia phase, moreover in 12 cases with foot gangrene. The diagnoses for all the patients (35 men, 4 women, average age 57.8 years) were made in accordance with the clinical data, arteriography and ultra-sound imaging. In 15 cases the cause of ischemia was thrombo-obliteration of the aorto-femoral and in 24 cases of the femoro-popliteal segments. The following bypass operations were made: aorto-femoral graft implantation in 3 cases, ilio-femoral in 7 and ilio-popliteal in 2 cases, extra-anatomical femoro-femoral bypass graft in 4 cases and axillo-bifemoral in 1 case, femoro-popliteal above the knee bypass in 17 cases, in 2 cases explant-profundi femoral, in 1 case popliteal-peroneal prosthesis and in 2 cases profundoplasty. The postoperative period showed 1 graft thrombosis with a successful thrombectomy. In one case an infection of the femoro-femoral prosthesis was registered which was removed. In the long-term period up to 4 years thrombosis was registered in 6 cases with femoro-popliteal and in 2 cases with ilio-popliteal and ilio-femoral bypass grafts. High limb amputation had to be done in 5 cases. During this period 8 patients died from the causes other than operation. 28 cases with working grafts were followed-up, they underwent duplex-doppler investigation and in 4 cases arteriography. The first results showed excellent qualities of the new prosthesis which can be compared with those of the best similar models.