[Reversed vein bypass for the femoro-popliteal axis (author's transl)].

One hundred and twenty nine saphenous femoro-popliteal or infra-popliteal bypass were realised in 125 patients, 55 for very short distance intermittent claudication, 32 for rest pain, 38 for distal gangrene. A one to seven years follow up allows to draw four conclusions: -- In spite of a 4% mortality and a decrease of permeability from 88% at one year to 58% at 5 years, one must consider that in most cases the limb was saved, pain disappeared and the patient was able to work again. -- In case of intermittent claudication, operative indication should be very limited to severe socio-professional disturbance. In contrast, one should not hesitate in case of limb threatening. -- If a thrombosis of the bypass occurs, the spontaneous prognosis is hazardous and the patient should immediately be sent back to the surgical team that first operated. -- Since preventive reoperations have better prognosis than curative reoperations, the authors emphazise the interest of a systematic research of late stenosis or aneurism at the bypass level or up or down in order to correct the trouble prior to acute ischemic complication.