Transthoracic reconstructions of the innominate artery with atherosclerotic occlusions.

Background: Literature reports concerning transthoracic reconstructive operations of the innominate artery (IA) are rare.

Methods: Six men and one woman aged from 48 to 64 years were operated on -- all of them had atherosclerotic IA lesions. Some of them had additional vascular disease such as coronary atherosclerotic lesions in one patient, another one had chronic arterial ischemia (CM) of the lower extremities and one patient underwent a stroke.