Femorotibial bypass for limb salvage using human umbilical vein.

A series of 112 consecutive femorotibial bypasses was reviewed in which glutaraldehyde-stabilized human umbilical vein was used for the bypass. The duration of follow-up was between 6 months and 2 1/2 years. Cumulative patency at 2 years for the entire group was 9 per cent. The state of the pedal arteries, site of the distal anastomosis and age of the patient influenced the results. The difference in the patency rates at 1 year between patients with 3 patent pedal arteries and those with only 1 is significant (P less than 0.001) as is that between those with 3 and those with 2 (P = 0.024). Of 49 patients with pre-gangrene, in whom the bypass worked for a period in excess of 2 months, only 7 eventually required amputation in contrast to 32 of a group of 39 similar patients in whom the bypass failed early.