Surgical treatment of arterial embolism. Fifteen years experience.

A series of 102 surgical operations for arterial emboli in 85 patients during a fifteen-year period is presented. Seventeen patients were operated upon before the institution of the Fogarty balloon embolectomy catheter. 82 embolectomies using the Fogarty embolectomy catheter were carried out in 68 patients with a mortality of 32%. The amputation rate in the surviving patients was 39%. The most common cause of death was severe underlying heart disease, while the most important reason for amputation after an unsuccessful embolectomy was concomitant occlusive atherosclerosis, and to a lesser degree, a delay in the performance of the embolectomy.