Pedal artery bypass for limb salvage

Pedal artery bypass grafting appears to be a useful alternative in treating the lower extremity rendered desperately ischemic by complex arterial occlusions. Sequential grafting techniques appear to achieve better total revascularization and, thereby, increase limb salvage rates. Composite grafts allows more saphenous veins to be rendered usable for the critical small vessel anastomoses and work nearly as well as grafts composed entirely of autogenous material. Further experience and much longer follow-up study will be necessary to document continued improvement in limb salvage. A clear demonstration of improved term results is mandatory to justify the increased operating time necessary for these procedures. Nonetheless, it would seem that, based upon these intermediate results, use of these aggressive techniques offers hope of successful limb salvage for those patients deemed unsuitable for conventional revascularization procedures.