Femoro-popliteal by-pass with bovine heterografts.
Modified bovine heterografts were used in 28 patients, primarily extremity salvage problems, found to have unavailable or unusable saphenous veins. The accumulated 3 year patency rate was 35%. Of the 18 graft  failures, 11 required major amputation. A high failure rate of 39% in the first six-month interval was observed. Electromagnetic flowmeter recording were of limited value in predicting patency. Continued evaluation of bovine grafts for femoro-popliteal reconstruction in the absence of saphenous vein is recommended.
D000368:Aged; D000671:Amputation, Surgical; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D004691:Endarterectomy; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D005263:Femoral Artery / Q000601:surgery*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006084:Graft Rejection; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011150:Popliteal Artery / Q000601:surgery*; D012501:Saphenous Vein / Q000637:transplantation; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous; D014183:Transplantation, Heterologous / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000601:surgery