Many hemodynamic factors have been shown to be associated with in­creased intimal hyperplasia at the dis­tal anastomosis of arterial bypass graft. However, the relationship be­tween the length of anastomosis and development of such complication has not been studied before. The aim of this study is to assess this relation­ship at the distal anastomosis with Dacron graft.
Material and Methods : lleo-femoral bypasses were performed in 10 German shepherd dogs using 6-mm Dacron grafts. In accordance with preoperative randomization to in­dividual animal legs, distal anasto- moses were reconstructed applying four different groups (A, B, C and D) depending on the length of the arteri-otomy: 3.0, 3.5, 4.0 and 4.5 times the internal diameter of the artery respec­tively. The vessels were harvested 6 months after the operation and speci­mens were processed for histological study. Quantitative analysis was per­formed to assess the extent of intimal hyperplasia at three zones (heel, toe and mid-zone of the arterial bed) of the distal anastomosis.
Results: Sixteen arterial bypasses were included in this study. Light mi­croscopy revealed evidence of intimal hyperplasia in the four groups. Quan­titative analysis showed significant
MANSOURA MEDICAL JOURNAL