Noninvasive intraoperative monitoring: a prospective study comparing Doppler systolic occlusion pressure and segmental plethysmography.

Seventy-two limbs in forty patients underwent Doppler systolic ankle pressure and Pulse Volume Recording (PVR) amplitude measurements intraoperatively. Control patients and patients undergoing abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) resections showed no significant decrease in Doppler systolic ankle/brachial pressure ratio (DSAB). PVR measurements were slightly decreased after declamping in the AAA patients. Femoropopliteal bypass was associated with a prompt increase in PVR and DSAB levels. In contrast, postreconstruction values in the extraanatomic (EA) and aortofemoral (AF) bypass groups were dependent upon the patency of the femoropopliteal segment. Intraoperative monitoring provides a quantitative assessment of the immediate success of arterial surgery.