Comparative patency between intracranial arterial pedicle and vein bypass surgery.

BACKGROUND Long-term patency of extracranial-to-intracranial (EC-IC) vein bypass is poorly understood. OBJECTIVE We report our experience of patency of arterial pedicle grafts and interposition vein grafts for the purpose of EC-IC bypass. METHODS We analyzed 294 consecutive patients who underwent 178 intracranial arterial pedicle bypass procedures and 152 intracranial vein bypass procedures. Bypass patency was assessed by digital subtraction angiography, computed tomographic angiography, and/or Doppler ultrasound. The modified Rankin Scale (mRS) was assigned for clinical grading at the last follow-up consultation. RESULTS The main indication for arterial pedicle bypass surgery was internal carotid artery occlusion (79 cases); for vein bypass surgery, it was giant aneurysms (61 cases). Procedure-related complications due to surgery occurred in 3 cases (1.7%; 95% CI: 0.4-5.1%) of arterial pedicle bypass surgery and 12 cases (7.9%; 95% CI: 4.5-13.4%) of vein bypass surgery. The patency rate at 6 weeks was 98% (95% CI: 95.0-99.7%) for arterial pedicle bypass and 93% (95% CI: 87.4-96%) for vein bypass, with almost all graft failures occurring within the first week following surgery. Beyond the first week, bypass patency was similar for both groups, with both arterial pedicle grafts and vein bypass grafts that were patent at 1 week having a long-term patency of 99%. There was no statistically significant difference in early, late, and overall patency between the 2 bypass groups. CONCLUSION The surgical complication rate was greater for vein bypass. Both arterial pedicle and vein bypass have good long-term patency.