Long-term results in superficial femoral artery endarterectomy.

Semiclosed femoral popliteal endarterectomy, herein described as extending from groin to knee and performed with an arterial stripper, has proved to be a satisfactory alternative to revascularization of comparable occluded segments of thigh arteries employing autologous saphenous vein. Cumulative patency of 95.7% in all groups initially decreases to 59.6% in claudicators at 5 years and 30.6% in those who had surgery for limb salvage, whereas the limb salvage rate exceeds patency rate, being 62.9% at 5 years.