Extracranial-intracranial bypass to the proximal posterior cerebral artery and to the proximal middle cerebral artery for multiple occlusive cerebrovascular disease.

A 48-year-old man with a multiple occlusive cerebrovascular disease involving both the carotid and the vertebrobasilar systems is reported. Faced with noneffective conservative treatment, a surgical approach was carried out. As the patient had poorly developed posterior communicating arteries, two extracranial-intracranial bypasses were performed for both the carotid and the vertebrobasilar circulations; extracranial-intracranial bypasses with interposed saphenous vein grafts between the left external carotid artery and the proximal segment of the left middle cerebral artery, and between the right external carotid artery and the proximal segment of the right posterior cerebral artery. Advantages, precautions, and techniques of this kind of bypass procedure are discussed.