does it threaten renal perfusion or function?
Proximal propagation of aortic thrombus with resultant impaired renal perfusion has been considered a significant risk of untreated infrarenal aortic occlusion. To investigate this question, we studied 52 patients surviving 1 year or more after surgical interruption of the infrarenal aorta in the course of treatment of aortic graft infection. Blood pressure, renal function, and renal artery anatomy were studied before and after aortic interruption. Preoperatively, 20 patients (38.4%) had treated hypertension, and 11 (21.2%) had impaired renal function (creatinine greater than 1.3 mg/dl). In 46 patients (88.4%) with angiography before aortic interruption, 31 (67.4%) had normal renal arteries, whereas 15 (32.6%) demonstrated renal artery stenosis of less than or equal to 50% (N = 10) or greater than 50% (N = 9). Concomitant renal revascularization (N = 3) or nephrectomy (N = 1) were rare. All patients were monitored after surgery for a mean period of 39.2 months. Thirty-three (63.5%) rem
