Femorofemoral bypass through the perineum for infection complicating arterial revascularization of the lower limb.

Of 587 prosthetic arterial constructions performed between 1980 and 1984 on the aorta and lower limbs, 25 patients were operated on for sepsis. A total of 37 operations were performed, six of which were femorofemoral crossover bypasses through the perineum. Prosthetic material was used in one case and vein in five. The host vessel was the contralateral iliac or femoral artery, the contralateral limb of an aortobifemoral bypass, or the contralateral limb of an axillofemoral bypass in two cases each. The recipient vessel was the profunda femoris artery in four cases, the popliteal artery in one case, and the profunda femoris and popliteal arteries sequentially in one case. Indications for perineal bypass included an infected pseudoaneurysm in the femoral triangle following a femoropopliteal (one case) or aortofemoral bypass (five cases). In two instances, sepsis was bilateral and also required an axillofemoral bypass. Excepting one postoperative death, early results were satisfactory as infection disappeared and arterial reconstructions remained patent in all other cases. This technique should have its place in the armamentarium of extraanatomic bypasses along with other techniques such as the axillofemoral, prepublic femorofemoral crossover, and obturator bypasses. The best indication for perineal bypass is when vascularization of a lower limb from the contralateral side is necessary because of infection in the femoral triangle.