Surgical Maneuvers

Abstract

Ligature was, for many years, the only operation done on arteries. Many of the approaches to the vessels of the neck used in reconstructive surgery today were worked out decades ago in order to ligate injured or aneurysmal arteries. The advent of balloon occlusion and distal embolization have made surgical ligature uncommon; it is now done almost exclusively for trauma. For surgical reconstruction of the arteries of the neck the classic techniques of endarterectomy and bypass are still the ones most frequently used, although transposition techniques are becoming commonplace.