Appendicitis and aortofemoral graft infection.

A 59-year-old man who underwent successful aortofemoral bypass had acute appendicitis at an indeterminate time in the postoperative period. Thirteen months later, a pulsatile groin mass developed. After a complicated course, it was found that infection from appendicitis had extended to the body of the graft. This unusual cause of graft infection reaffirms the importance of careful closure of the retroperitoneum over an aortic anastomosis and suggests a relationship of other intra-abdominal inflammatory processes to graft infection.