Aortofemoral bypass grafts: safety of percutaneous puncture.

To assess the safety of percutaneous puncture for the angiographic study of aortofemoral bypass grafts, we reviewed the medical records of 58 patients who underwent a total of 86 graft punctures. Short- and long-term follow-up revealed that in 83 punctures there were no complications. In three instances (3.5%) there was acute thrombosis of the punctured limb of the graft. This complication may have expedited but did not substantially alter the surgical plans of managing the underlying clinical problem. Although the incidence of complications of direct graft puncture is higher than that associated with puncture of native vessels, alternative approaches are also associated with complications, many of which may be more serious. Therefore, for angiographic studies of patients with aortofemoral bypass grafts, we favor the direct percutaneous puncture provided that enough time has elapsed from surgery.