Arterial Reconstruction with Prosthetic Grafts in the Bilateral External Iliac Artery of Infant

Abstract

Prosthetic grafts have been employed in a limited number of pediatric patients with peripheral vascular lesions. We treated an iatrogenic obstruction of bilateral external iliac arteries in a child. The patient was a six-year-old girl whose chief complaints were intermittent claudication, and lower limb pain when exposed to cold. She had a history of coarctation complex for which she had undergone repeated catheterizations by puncture of both femoral arteries in her infancy. At the age of four, two-stage operation was performed: resection of the coarctation and end-to-end anastomosis, and direct closure of ventricular septal defect. Angiography performed through the brachial artery demonstrated obstruction of the bilateral external iliac arteries. Both right and left femoral artery were visualized through the collateral artery from the ipsilateral internal iliac artery. Because she became afflicted with lower limb ischemia a revascularization procedure was indicated. A 6mm expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) bypass graft was implanted bilaterally between the internal iliac artery and the common femoral artery with end-to-side anastomosis. Ischemic symptoms disappeared postoperatively and MR-angiogram performed nine days after surgery also showed the patency of the graft. It is a great concern, however, that the length of the graft may become relatively shorter with the growth of the patient. It is also anticipated that the lower limbs may suffer relatively insufficient blood flow in the future.