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(Stroke. 1995;26:1565-1571.)
© 1995 American Heart Association, Inc.

Articles

Carotid-Subclavian Bypass for Brachiocephalic Occlusive Disease

Choice of Conduit and Long-term Follow-up

Presented in part at the 19th International Joint Conference on Stroke and Cerebral Circulation, San Diego, Calif, February 17-19, 1994.

Michael M. Law, MD; Michael D. Colburn, MD; Wesley S. Moore, MD; William J. Quiñones-Baldrich, MD; Herbert I. Machleder, MD Hugh A. Gelabert, MD

From the Section of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of California at Los Angeles School of Medicine.

Correspondence to Wesley S. Moore, MD, Section of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery, UCLA School of Medicine, 10833 LeConte Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90095.

Background and Purpose Atherosclerotic disease of the proximal brachiocephalic circulation may produce disabling symptoms referable to cerebral or upper extremity hypoperfusion and embolization. Bypass of occlusive lesions can provide durable relief of symptoms with minimal complications. The ideal conduit for carotid-to-subclavian and subclavian-to-carotid bypass remains controversial, and it is not clear whether the outflow vessel influences patency and survival.

Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of 60 consecutive carotid-to-subclavian and subclavian-to-carotid bypass procedures. Occlusive lesions were documented preoperatively by arteriography. Patency was determined during follow-up by ultrasound or duplex examination. Actuarial patency, symptom-free survival, and overall survival rates were calculated by the life-table method and analyzed by log-rank test.

Results Arterial transposition demonstrated the highest long-term patency rate (100.0±0.0%). Polytetrafluoroethylene grafts demonstrated the highest bypass graft patency rate (95.2±4.6%), followed by Dacron grafts (83.9±10.5%) and saphenous vein grafts (64.8±16.5%). Symptom-free survival paralleled patency rates, but these differences did not achieve statistical significance. While there were no differences in patency or symptom-free survival by outflow vessel, the overall survival of patients with common carotid lesions was significantly lower than that of patients with subclavian lesions (62.7±12.8% versus 100.0±0.0%; P<.05).

Conclusions The outflow vessel does not affect long-term patency in carotid and subclavian bypass procedures; however, patients with common carotid disease demonstrate significantly poorer long-term survival. Transposition results in superior long-term patency, with a trend toward lower results for synthetic grafts and relatively poor results for autogenous vein grafts.

Key Words: bypass surgery • carotid arteries

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