What is peripheral bypass surgery?
Peripheral vascular bypass surgery is aimed to circumvent a blockage in a blood vessel, commonly an artery. A Femoral Popliteal Bypass (Fem-pop bypass) is designed to revascularize the lower limb to prevent acute limb ischemia, ulceration, pain and potentially amputation (Circulation Foundation. 2024)
In 2021 Waton et al. (2022) stated that NHS trusts in the United Kingdom performed 12,326 procedures to revascularize lower limbs, less than half of which we open procedures, of the open procedures 82% of those admitted to hospital had limb threatening ischemia.
Image:(Premier vein, 2024)
Considerations as a scrub practitioner
Due to the demographics of the vascular patient group issues with mortality and morbidity are a common factor when treating these patients. To combat this issue and reduce the risk of respiratory mortality due to a general anaesthetic, there is the possibility that your patient may undergo a regional anaesthesia technique called a spinal which will numb the patient in their lower extremities (Fraser and Raju. 2015). Keep in mind that your patient may be fully aware of their surroundings and what is going on in your theatre!, some of these procedures are performed as emergency surgery.
Image:(NW MSK, 2024)
Complications
Complications is an ever-present risk to surgery, understanding those risks are essential especially when providing direct care to the patient.
Risks associated with the fem pop bypass during surgery include:
- Myocardial infractions
- Arrhythmia
- Major haemorrhage
- Thrombosis
- Occlusion in the graft or damage to the graft
(Hauk, 2018)
Be mindful of these risks and understand the steps that will be taken to rectify them!
Image:(Anon, 2023)
Create Your Own Website With Webador