Circulation Journal Official Journal of the Japanese Circulation Society http://www. j-circ.or.jp istal bypass has been established as the most effective treatment for critical limb ischemia of peripheral arterial disease (PAD). In particular, bypass to the paramalleolar arteries is considered to enable complete revascularization through the pedal lesion. It is still a challenging procedure, however, because the long-term patency rate is not satisfactory, despite recent progress in surgical techniques and postoperative management. Early graft failure might be due to poor anastomotic technique, presence of inadequate run-off vessels, or marked calcification of the target artery and/or poor quality of the conduit vein. Although many papers have been published concerning the long-term patency of distal bypass, 1-3 the factors subsequently affecting the patency rate have not yet been elucidated. In the present report, data were reviewed and the factors affecting long-term patency were investigated. Patient background profile and technical factors involved in the distal bypass operation to the paramalleolar tibial artery were considerably similar in each patient due to the presence of similar risk factors of atherosclerosis and coexistent atherosclerotic vascular diseases. The extent of the disease was similar, variation in surgical techniques was limited, and surgical procedures and postoperative care were uniform in general. Thus, we believe that it would be beneficial to analyze the results of paramalleolar distal bypass to elucidate the risk factors of graft failure. In particular, Japanese subjects are very homogeneous genetically, 4,5 which favors determination of the substantial factors involved in graft failure.
MethodsWe retrospectively studied 65 legs of 60 consecutively treated Japanese patients (49 men, 11 women; age range, 42-87 years; average, 70.5 years) with PAD who underwent distal bypass to the paramalleolar tibial artery (artery supplying the distal third of the calf) 6 for critical limb ischemia (Table 1). All the patients had lower extremity ischemic ulcer or necrosis. Ankle brachial pressure index, skin perfusion pressure and angiography showed the lesions to be of ischemic origin, and they met the criteria for critical limb ischemia in the Trans-Atlantic Inter-Society Consensus (TASC) guidelines. Comorbidity factors consisted of diabetes in 43 patients (66%), hypertension in 42 (65%), dyslipidemia in 12 (18%), chronic renal failure Background: The results of paramalleolar distal bypass for critical limb ischemia in patients with peripheral arterial disease were reviewed to determine the factors affecting the long-term patency of this procedure in Japanese subjects.