Autologous Fascia Lata Femoris in Arterial Grafting

The superiority of autologous saphenous vein grafts over synthetic prostheses in the surgical correction of femoral and popliteal artery occlusive disease is conceded by most surgeons. An alternate source of autologous graft material would thus appear to be most desirable for the occasional patient whose saphenous veins either have been excised previously or are in some way anatomically unsuitable for use in grafting.

Autologous fascia lata femoris is readily obtainable and would appear to lend itself to this use. Fascia lata femoris has been used for many purposes in surgery including the repair of hernias¹ and closure of chest wall defects following the Urban type of radical mastectomy.² Several attempts to use rectus abdominis fascia for arterial grafting^3,4,5 have proven unsuccessful, the fascial grafts being subject to aneurysmal dilatation and rupture. In contrast, Cousar and Lam⁶ used rectus abdominis fascia successfully in a relatively short-term experiment.