EVAR reimbursement is presently inadequate to cover hospital expenses. Substantial financial losses occurred at four of the participating centers. University hospitals fared surprisingly better because of higher reimbursement.

ObjectiveTwenty-five years of experience with subclavian revascularizations were reviewed to determine the long-term patency rates of different extrathoracic approaches. Summary Background DataAlthough it is generally agreed that proximal subclavian stenosis should be treated by an extrathoracic route whenever possible, the optimum procedure is debated. Alternatives include subclavian carotid bypass, subclavian-to-subclavian or axilloaxillary bypasses, and the authors' preferred technique of subclavian carotid transposition (SCT). MethodsRecords were researched for the past 25 years in a single specialty surgical clinic for extrathoracic subclavian revascularizations. One hundred ninety such procedures were identified, and hospital charts and office medical records were reviewed for procedure, preoperative symptoms, blood pressure differentials, and postoperative complications. Patency was determined by physical examination, differential blood pressures, Doppler spectral analysis, duplex examinations, and arteriography.

The authors' experience with 113 aortic occlusions in 103 patients during a 26-year period (1965 to 1991) is reviewed. The authors found three distinct patterns of presentation: group I (n = 26) presented with acute aortic occlusion, group II (n = 66) presented with chronic aortic occlusion, and group III (n = 21) presented with complete occlusion of an aortic graft. Perioperative mortality rates were 31%, 9%, and 4.7% for each respective group and achieved statistical significance when comparing group I with group II (p = 0.009) and group I with group III (p = 0.015). Group I presented with profound metabolic insults due to acute ischemia and fared poorly. Group II presented with chronic claudication and did well long-term. Group III presented with acute ischemia but did well because of established collateral circulation. The treatment and expected outcome of aortic occlusion depends on the cause.

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