Interposition of a saphenous vein graft for early recurrent carotid stenosis--report of two cases.

The main cause of recurrent stenosis within 24 months of carotid endarterectomy is myointimal hyperplasia. In these cases, reoperation is technically difficult because there is no true plane of dissection between the recurrent plaque and the remaining vessel wall. The authors present two cases of early recurrent stenosis after carotid endarterectomy, both of which were successfully treated by an interposed saphenous vein graft. In the first case, angiography suggested that the recurrent stenosis was due to atherosclerosis. In the second case, however, myointimal hyperplasia was suspected to be the cause, and this was confirmed by histological examination of the surgical specimen. The authors' experience indicates that anastomosis with an interposed saphenous vein graft is a reliably effective treatment for early recurrent carotid stenosis.