Surgical management of limb prosthetic vascular graft exposure

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the risk factors and surgical management of limb prosthetic vascular graft exposure. METHODS: The clinical data of 17 patients suffering from limb prosthetic vascular graft exposure in Peking Union Medical College Hospital from August 2006 to December 2011 were retrospectively analyzed. Among 17 cases, 5 suffered from prosthetic vascular graft exposure after vascular bypass for the lower limb ischemia, whereas 12 were affected after the artificial graft arteriovenous fistula construction in the upper limbs for hemodialysis. The surgical procedures mainly included the local debridement as well as the local flap and transferred muscle-cutaneous flap reconstruction to preserve the prosthetic vascular graft. RESULTS: All 17 patients underwent local flap or muscle-cutaneous flap coverage procedure. After the surgery, the prosthetic vascular graft was successfully salvaged in 14 cases. The total successful rate was 82.4%. The surgery failed in three patients, in whom the prosthetic vascular grafts were finally removed. CONCLUSION: Local flap and transferred muscle-cutaneous flap reconstruction is an effective surgical management to salvage the exposed grafts.