Principles of surgery of the deep femoral artery in arteritis of the lower extremities
Gautier, R.; Bonneton, G.
Phlebologie 28(3-4): 459-462
1975
ISSN/ISBN: 0031-8280 PMID: 1230808 Document Number: 91899
The role of the deep femoral artery has too often been ignored in the assessment of arteritis of the lower limb. This anatomical distribution, which seems to be restricted to the thig, has left pride of place to the superficial artery as being responsible for intermittent claudication. In fact the deep femoral artery represents an exceptional and privileged route for anastomosis that is capable of replacing almost perfectly an obstructed superficial femoral artery and also in a more limited way femoro-popliteal arteries with extensive obstructions. The authors estimate that the deep femoral artery represents a true physiological bypass for a thrombosed superficial femoral artery on which a lumbar sympathectomy has a particularly remarkable action. It is important, in order to obtain as good a result as possible, that the flow in the deep femoral artery should be good, which presupposes complete freedom of the iliac axis and good permeability of the trunk of the artery, begining at its ostium. Surgery of the deep femoral artery is short or lon angioplastic surgery depending on the type of lesion, usually involving a venous patch. The surgical approach is straightforward. Whe it is used for isolated lesions or as the last stage of aorto-iliac surgery, delicate angioplasty of the deep femoral artery is a perfectly feasible operation which the authors believe should take its place, in association with lumbar sympathectomy, in the restoration of the superficial femoral artery.