# Surgical Outcomes of the Boat-Form Vein Cuff Technique in Peripheral Artery Bypass Grafting

## TL;DR

This paper evaluates a new boat-form vein cuff technique in peripheral artery bypass grafting surgeries and reports positive outcomes.

## Contribution

The boat-form vein cuff technique is introduced as a versatile and adjustable method for peripheral artery bypass grafting.

## Key findings

- No operative deaths or serious complications were observed in 10 patients using the boat-form vein cuff.
- The PTFE graft remained patent in 9 out of 10 patients during a follow-up period of about 3.7 years.
- One patient experienced femoropopliteal bypass graft occlusion three months post-surgery.

## Abstract

Objectives: The venous cuff technique has been used primarily for arterial bypass using artificial grafts to the lower extremities. The boat-form vein cuff was designed to allow adjustment of the size and angle of the anastomosis at any anatomic site. We report our experience and outcomes of the original vein cuff technique in various peripheral artery bypass grafting procedures.

Methods: A total of 10 patients underwent arterial bypass grafting using a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) graft with a boat-form venous cuff. The indications for the surgery consisted of peripheral artery disease (n = 4), acute limb ischemia (n = 4), chronic mesenteric ischemia (n = 1), and traumatic upper limb ischemia (n = 1). Five patients required emergency surgery. Surgical outcomes, such as mortality and morbidity, limb salvage rate, and graft patency, were examined using perioperative and postoperative follow-up data.

Results: There were no operative deaths or serious complications, including amputation of the lower extremity. During the follow-up period (44 ± 36.9 months), the PTFE graft remained patent in 9 patients (90%). In 1 patient, occlusion of the femoropopliteal bypass graft was observed 3 months after surgery.

Conclusions: The simple design and creation of the boat-form vein cuff are useful at any anatomical site in peripheral artery bypass grafting with a PTFE graft.