Clinical analysis of risk factors of the patency of the descending branch of the lateral circumflex femoral artery.

Many studies have provided anatomical statistics of the descending branch of lateral circumflex femoral artery (LCFA) through its use as the pedicle of anterolateral thigh (ALT) flaps. However, most of the results from these studies were acquired during surgeries or from cadavers. Therefore, this study has studied the descending branch of LCFA in patients with underlying diseases or risk factors using lower extremity angiography, and how such risk factors and the degree of stenosis in other arteries affect the patency and stability of the descending branch. The subjects of retrospective study were 89 legs from 49 patients who had received lower extremity angiography. Risk factors included age, BMI, diabetes, hypertension, tobacco use, hyperlipidemia, cardiac status, carotid status, renal disease, pulmonary status, and history of lower limb amputation. Analysis of the degree of stenosis in the descending branch of LCFA in regard to each risk factor have shown that hypertension, pulmonary function, history of lower limb amputation, and the total score of 11 risk factors were statistically significant. Also, in the correlation study of lower limb arteries, there was a significant correlation with the degree of stenosis in the posterior tibial artery, but not so in others. Therefore, when planning a flap surgery using the descending branch of LCFA, one needs to run imaging tests such as angiography to check arterial patency in patients with hypertension, impaired pulmonary function, and history of lower limb amputation.