Treatment of Takayasu's Arteritis: An Analysis of 29 Operated Patients

Over a 25-year period 29 patients underwent 49 vascular procedures due to arterial insufficiency or vascular complications caused by Takayasu's arteritis. In bypass operations 36 grafts were inserted. The 5-year patency rates were 53% when grafts were used for patients with the active disease stage and 88% during the inactive disease stage (p = 0.059). The material of the graft, or postoperative warfarin or platelet-inhibitor drug treatment administered for at least 3 postoperative months had less bearing on graft patency. Ten out of the 11 graft occlusions occurred within the first 2 postoperative years. In operations due to lesions of the brachiocephalic arteries (20 patients), bypass procedures appeared to be superior to thromboendarterectomies; 67% (20/30) of the grafts and 17% (1/6) of the thromboendarterectomies remained patent. Five hypertensive patients underwent surgery because of renal artery stenosis. Hypertension was cured in one patient and in another the antihypertensive regimens could be reduced. There were 2 operative deaths, one due to myocardial infarction after aortic valve replacement and the other due to cerebral hemorrhage, probably because of excessive blood flow resulting from the insertion of an aorto-bicarotid bifurcation bypass graft. Four of the 7 late deaths occurring nine months to 15.7 years postoperatively were considered to be related to Takayasu's arteritis.