Surgical management of vertebral-basilar insufficiency.

The authors report 251 cases of lesions of the major branches of the aortic arch and the vertebral artery in 172 patients. A detailed account is given of the observed lesions (34 lesions of the innominate artery, 93 of the subclavian artery and 119 of the vertebral arteries), the techniques used and the indications for surgery. The use of the cervical approach seems to be justified in order to adapt the extent of cure to the patient's condition and accounts for the low mortality rate of 1.5%.