• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.35 no.4
• /
• pp.283-289
• /
• 2002

Backgrouds: It is almost universally accepted that occlusive vascular diseases are best managed by anatomical reconstruction. However, the mortality and the morbidity have limited this operation for patients with high operation risks. In these patients, palliative operations such as extra-anatomic bypass and lumbar sympathectomy, are accepted as useful treatment. Material and Method: A retrospective study was conducted in 38 patients who underwent palliative operations for occlusive vascular disease at Korea University Guro Hospital between 1996 and 2000. Mean age of the patients was 60.37 $\pm$ 17.65 years, and preoperative diagnoses were atherosclerosis in 32 patients, Buerger's disease in 4 patients, Raynaud's syndrome in 1 patient and SVC syndrome in 1 patient. Result: Extra-anatomic bypass(40procedures), lumbar sympathectomy(17), thromboembolectomy(7) and femoral artery graft interposition(1) were performed. Six patients were required reoperation due to graft flow failure or fistula. Three year primary patency rate of entire operations was 78.29 $\pm$ 8.81%, and the correlation between type of operation and patency rate was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Palliative operations for occlusive vascular disease are useful treatment in limited patients with high operation risks or limited life expectancy.