Hemodynamic comparison of microsurgical repairs for large arterial defects

Twenty‐eight femoral arteries in 14 rats were used to compare transverse closures and end‐to‐end anastomoses in blood vessels approximately 1 mm in diameter. The transverse closures were applied to arteriectomies created by excising one‐half the circumference of the vessel over a length of 1 mm. The end‐to‐end anastomoses were performed after resecting a 1‐mm segment. Recordings were made of pre‐and postrepair flow velocity and three‐point diameter measurements every 5 minutes using a 20‐MHz pulsed Doppler velocimeter and digimatic caliper. Maximum reductions in flow velocity were 18% and 31% for the transverse repair and end‐to‐end anastomosis, respectively. Otherwise, intergroup comparisons of the postrepair normalization of both flow velocity and vessel diameter showed few significant differences ( P < 0.05). We conclude that arterial defects involving no more than half the diameter of the vessel can be effectively repaired in significantly less time using the transverse closure. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.