Is there an alternative to the surgical above-knee bypass in treatment of superficial femoral artery disease? Experiences with Viabahn stent graft.
We conducted a retrospective study to compare short- and mid-term patencies of Viabahn with surgical above-knee prosthetic bypass (pAKB). The records of 52 patients with either pAKB (n = 25) or Viabahn (n = 27) were reviewed. The majority had Rutherford clinical grade 3. Patients were followed after 3, 6, and 12 months and yearly thereafter. For Viabahn, the short-term (1-16 months) primary patency rate was 60% with a secondary patency rate of 90%, and mid-term (1-68 months) patencies of 47% and 83.3%, respectively. In pAKB, the short-term results revealed a primary patency rate of 78% with a secondary patency of 91% and mid-term results of 65% and 90%, respectively. No statistical difference was found concerning short-term patencies. Mid-term primary patency was lower for Viabahn (P < .05) and secondary patency proved no significant difference. Viabahn revealed similar short-term primary and secondary patencies but lower mid-term primary patency. It provides a good alternative therapy to pAKB.