Intraoperative angiography.

Intraoperative angiograms were performed on 131 patients. There were 23 aortoiliac procedures (Group I); 20 aortofemoral procedures (Group II); 25 femoral artery reconstructionellaneous operative angiograms (Group V) were included; examples of this group were renal artery and brachial artery reconstructions. Ten intraoperative carotid angiograms comprised Group VI. Twenty-three patients (17.5%) showed abnormalities which required correction. These were the presence of thrombus in 11 (47.8%) and anastomotic stricture in nine (39.1%); the remaining 13.1 per cent consisted of one kinked graft, one vessel disruption, following embolectomy, and one false aneurysm. The incidence of defects was 4.3 per cent in Group I; 15 per cent in Group II; 16 per cent in Group III; 21.6 percent in Group IV, and 25 per cent in Group V. A 30 per cent incidence was found in Group VI. Technical defects in vascular reconstructions are revealed by intraoperative angiography in a significant number of cases and their incidence is directly related to the size of the vessel being operated on. Recognition and repair of these defects should result in a reduction in the rate of early occlusion.