[Reconstructive surgery in arterial disease of the legs at the stage of intermittent claudication. Report of 100 cases (author's transl)].

100 patients with stage II arteritis (claudication alone) were operated on. In the vast majority of cases (78%), the lesions were aorto-iliac. The operative mortality was nil. The immediate follow up period included 2 thromboses requiring 2 reoperations. The long term follow up, on average 22 months (from 8 months to 3 years) was very satisfactory with a good functional result in 94.5% of cases. We noted 4 deaths, of which 3 were of cardiovascular origin, 4 secondary thromboses of which 2 were due to suddenly stopping anticoagulants. The low morbidity is a further reason for early surgery, as it is known that the risks of operation at a later stage, e.g. stages III and IV, may occur suddenly in the course of an apparently stable arteritis.