Primary infra‐inguinal arterial reconstructions were reviewed for primary patency and outcome of thrombosis in 144 patients. Distal anastomoses in these patients were to the popliteal artery and were above the knee in 63, below the knee in 53 and at the tibial level in 28. The treatment used was: polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) in 33 cases, PTFE with an interposition vein cuff in 29 cases, autogenous saphenous vein (ASV) in situ in 47 cases, and reversed technique in 26 cases.
Life table analysis showed a 59% overall primary patency at 3 years. Patency rates of above knee anastomoses (65%) and below knee (61%) were statistically different from the tibial anastomoses (42%. P = 0.005). In both above and below knee popliteal anastomoses there was a statistically significant difference in the patency of ASV and the PTFE/vein cuff technique (P= 0.0006) but there was no difference between ASV and FTFE. There was no difference in patency rates for the various types of grafts with tibial anastomoses. Data were analysed at 3 years, taking into account the variables of smoking, diabetes or indications for surgery respectively and no difference was found in patency. The number and calibre of the run‐off vessels did not influence patency significantly, hence anastomosis to any good quality vessel regardless of run‐off is recommended.
The poor results with the interposition vein cuff technique are unexplained but this study suggests that the technique should he reserved for anastomoses below the popliteal artery.
The Unispacer knee system is a cobalt-chrome self-centring tibial hemiarthroplasty device for use in the treatment of isolated medial compartment osteoarthritis of the knee. The indications for use are similar to those for high tibial osteotomy, but insertion does not require bone cuts or component fixation, and does not compromise future knee replacement surgery. A prospective study of a consecutive series of 18 patients treated with the Unispacer between June 2003 and August 2004 was carried out to determine the early clinical results of this device. The mean age of the patients was 49 years (40 to 57). A total of eight patients (44%) required revision within two years. In two patients revision to a larger spacer was required, and in six conversion to either a unicompartmental or total knee replacement was needed. At the most recent review 12 patients (66.7%) had a Unispacer remaining in situ. The mean modified visual analogue score for these patients at a mean follow-up of 19 months (12 to 26) was 3.0 (0 to 11.5). The mean pain level was 30% that of the mean pre-operative level of 10. The early clinical results using this device have been disappointing. This study demonstrates that use of the Unispacer in isolated medial compartment osteoarthritis is associated with a high rate of revision surgery and provides unpredictable relief of pain.
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