Durability of endarterectomy and antegrade grafts in the treatment of chronic visceral ischemia.

Several techniques have been used to revascularize the visceral circulation. Although initially successful, these repairs often have a significant rate of late occlusion. To determine the durability of transaortic endarterectomy (TEA) and antegrade aortovisceral grafting, we reviewed the last 67 consecutive patients operated on at the University of California, San Francisco for chronic visceral ischemia. The patients were principally middle-aged (mean, 59 years) women (76%) with atherosclerotic disease involving at least two major visceral arteries. Forty-seven patients underwent TEA; 22 patients had associated renal endarterectomy, and 15 patients had simultaneous aortic reconstructions. Twenty patients had an aortovisceral antegrade bypass placed as their only reconstruction. Two of these had concomitant aortic reconstructions. There were five perioperative deaths. Of the 62 patients available for follow-up, 60 patients who had a total of 111 major visceral branch repairs have been followed up for 6 months to 14 years (mean, 4.4 years). Four patients (7%) have had recurrent visceral ischemia. Two patients had recurrent symptoms and have been asymptomatic for nearly 5 and 6 years, respectively, after successful reoperations. Two patients had intestinal infarction and died as a result. Thirty-four patients have had follow-up aortography that showed 58 widely patent reconstructions, two asymptomatic single-vessel stenoses, and one asymptomatic occlusion. TEA and antegrade visceral bypass provided long-term relief of symptoms and prevented visceral gangrene in 56 of 60 patients (93%). The prolonged patency of these reconstructions is attributed to the following: They originate from undiseased or endarterectomized aorta, they provide optimal, nonturbulent flow, and they avoid the inherent technical pitfalls of retrograde grafting.