[Cost saving after-care in infra-inguinal vascular reconstruction].

To assess the indications for routine colour flow duplex surveillance, 43 infrainguinal autogenous vein grafts were prospectively entered into a surveillance protocol. Screening consisted of measurements of ankle brachial indices (ABI) and colour flow duplex imaging of the entire graft length. All grafts at risk had a serial fall in resting ABI of more than 0.1. This study suggests that resting ABI measurements are a very sensitive and non-expensive primary screening procedure, provided that all grafts with ABI changes of more than 0.1 are further evaluated. About 60% of ABI-screened grafts needed further evaluation because of ABI changes of greater than 0.1, incompressibility of arteries or extension of the graft to the ankle or pedal arteries. Colour flow duplex scanning was very useful in excluding of identifying and localising graft problems and deciding on further invasive diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.