The recent improvement in engineering of artificial vessels and progress in microsurgery techniques has led to rapid and effective advances in the field of vascular transplantation.
However, questions concerning the immunology of artificial vessels are not yet settled and the survival period of transplanted vessels is not known. Assuming sound operative technique, transplantation of autogeneous vessels seems to be comparatively safe.
The neck dissection is performed during the surgical treatment of maxillofacial malignant tumor. If the internal carotid artery remains amputated after ligation of the external carotid artery, which provides nourishment to the tumor, the resulting clinical symptoms will be the same as those following ligation of the common carotid artery.
These symptoms, such as confusion, occur due to hypovolemia of the orbital and cerebral region, resulting in death in severe cases.
Therefore in this case of oral cancer in a 71-year-old woman in which the internal carotid artery was replaced with the great saphenous vein.
Details of the successful transplantation are as follows.
