Bypass carótido-subclavio con vena safena como alternativa de tratamiento en la oclusión de la arteria subclavia izquierda / Carotid-subclavian bypass with saphenous vein as a choice in treating occlusion of the left subclavian artery

La oclusión de la arteria subclavia izquierda es un cuadro poco frecuente y que cursa de forma asintomática generalmente. La presencia de síntomas y posibles complicaciones indican el tratamiento quirúrgico. El bypass carótido-subclavio es la técnica quirúrgica más utilizada gracias a su baja morbilidad, mortalidad y elevados índices de permeabilidad a largo plazo. El propósito de este trabajo es presentar un procedimiento alternativo para el tratamiento quirúrgico de esta oclusión, en este caso, el bypass carótido-subclavio con injerto de vena safena interna. Se describe el caso de una paciente de 56 años, fumadora inveterada que acudió al Servicio de Cirugía Cardíaca y Vascular del Cardiocentro "Ernesto Guevara", Villa Clara en diciembre de 2014 por presentar dolor frecuente en el miembro superior izquierdo que limitaba la actividad física. Se diagnosticó oclusión de la primera porción de la arteria subclavia izquierda. Se realizó bypass carótido-subclavio con injerto de vena safena interna que solucionó su cuadro clínico. La paciente evolucionó satisfactoriamente con bypass permeable con ultrasonido y angio-tomografía computarizada a los dos años de operada. El bypass carótido-subclavio con injerto de vena safena interna representa una alternativa efectiva y segura en el tratamiento de la oclusión sintomática de la arteria subclavia izquierda(AU)

The occlusion of the left subclavian artery is an uncommon situation and mostly asymptomatic. The presence of symptoms and possible complications indicate the surgical treatment. The carotid-subclavian bypass is the classical surgical technique, due to its low morbidity and mortality rates, and long term permeability indexes. The objective of this paper was to present an alternative procedure for surgical treatment of this type of occlusion, that is, the carotid-subclavian bypass with internal saphenous vein graft. Here is a 56 year-old female , heavy smoker patient who went to the heart and vascular surgery of "Ernesto Guevara" cardiological center in Villa Clara province on December 2014. She presented with frequent pain in the left upper limb that restricted her daily physical activity; the diagnosis was occlusion of the first portion of the left subclavian artery. The patient underwent left carotid-subclavian bypass surgery using a greater saphenous vein graft that eliminated the clinical picture. The patient recovered satisfactorily with a permeable bypass and she was performed ultrasound and angiographic computer tomography after two years of operation. Carotid-subclavian bypass with greater saphenous vein graft represents an effective and safe alternative in the treatment of the symptomatic occlusion of the left subclavian artery(AU)

Subclavian Steal Syndrome

The definition of subclavian steal is the reversal of vertebral blood flow resulting from the stenosis or occlusion of one of the subclavian arteries or the innominate artery. It is a rare disease resulting in a variety of ischemic neurologic symptoms such as vertigo, dizziness, diplopia, dysarthria, ataxia and nystagmus. Some patients show ischemic symptoms and digital necrosis of the involved arm. Among treatment options, Subclavian to carotid transposition is the most preferred method. We report a patient with subclavian steal syndrome who had 5th finger necrosis of the left hand without neurologic symptoms. It was successfully treated with a carotid-subclavian bypass with a 6 mm ePTFE graft.