title: The effect of continued cigarette smoking on the patency of synthetic vascular grafts in Leriche syndrome.
abstract: The effects of continued smoking were studied in 187 consecutive patients who underwent aorto-iliac or aorto-femoral grafting because of Leriche disease and who left the hospital with well-functioning grafts. The patients were divided into the following groups: (1) never smoked, (2) stopped smoking after the operation, (3) continued to smoke less than a pack a day and (4) continued to smoke more than a pack a day. The patency of the grafts was evaluated at regular intervals during a follow-up period ranging from 6 months to 10 years. A significant difference in the patency in the favor of the nonsmokers was found, with the "more than one pack a day" group having more than triple the occlusion rate of the nonsmokers, both absolutely and in month-patency time. We recommend that the surgeon make a most sincere effect to induce patients undergoing vascular operations for occlusive vascular diseases to give up smoking. Failure to promise to stop the smoking habit should be regarded as a relatively strong contraindication for surgery in patients not directly threatened with loss of an extremity.
mesh_terms: D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000209:etiology; D001777:Blood Coagulation / Q000187:drug effects; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007511:Ischemia / Q000209:etiology; D007925:Leriche Syndrome / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D009538:Nicotine / Q000494:pharmacology; D011093:Polyethylene Terephthalates; D011379:Prognosis; D011674:Pulse; D012907:Smoking / Q000150:complications*
chemical_list: D011093:Polyethylene Terephthalates; D009538:Nicotine