1. There may well be a place for streptokinase therapy in selected patients with chronic arterial occlusion, but the emphasis should be on developing information on selection criteria. 2. Efficacy and safety have been established for the use of streptokinase in occluded AV cannulae, but this may be more of historical than contemporary importance. 3. Although more investigation is required to define the role of lytic therapy in retinal vascular occlusion and in the hemolytic uremic syndrome, the preliminary results are encouraging and merit further attention.
Nine patients with signs and symptoms of vertebral-basilar artery insufficiency and with the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis experienced partial restoration of lost neurologic function with the revascularization of ischemic tissue of the hindbrain by an operation to correct partial extraluminal obstruction of the proximal segment of the first part of the vertebral artery. The selection of patients is dependent on preoperative angiography of the aortic arch with visualization of the vessels of the neck, the vertebral and the carotid arteries. There was no mortality and no significant morbidity among these patients.
Sixteen patients with aortic and iliac graft fistulae were diagnosed from a series of over 886 abdominal aortic reconstructive operations. A preoperative diagnosis was established in 12, eleven by radiographic studies. Angiography and barium intestinal studies were the most helpful. The two most important features in diagnosis are a high index of suspicion and an aggressive radiographic approach.
The superior mesenteric artery was successfully implanted to a tube graft replacement of the suprarenal abdominal aorta after a gunshot wound. Although injuries to the abdominal aorta carry a high mortality, adequate management and prompt operation can reduce the mortality rate. In cases like this one the ingenuity of the surgeon is at stake, because arterial anastomoses are not always possible to their natural origin. Death from aortic injuries is most commonly caused by hemorrhage and exsanguination, so appropriate measures must be taken as soon as the diagnosis is made to avoid this possibility. Also, patients should not be hypotensive for any long time, so transfusion should be timed carefully, especially when the aortic clamps are being removed.