A vascular surgery technique pioneered at UT Southwestern Medical Center, in which veins are removed from the thigh to repair the aorta does not create blood-flow problems and painful side effects in a majority of patients, researchers report.
Vascular disease is a major contributor to life-threatening conditions such as aneurysms or blockages of the aorta. Inserting synthetic grafts to repair damaged aortas, the largest artery in the body, is typically the first line of treatment.
Some patients, however, are prone to infections in these grafts, which typically requires removal of the infected grafts, a surgery that leaves the patient with no blood flow to the legs. Searching for a solution to this dilemma, surgeons at UT Southwestern, led by Dr. Patrick Clagett, chairman of vascular surgery, developed a technique in the early 1990s that uses veins from a patient's own leg to fix and repair infected grafts.