Major vascular surgery in a patient with sickle cell disease

We report a patient with homozygous sickle cell disease who underwent femoropopliteal bypass for claudication on walking 10 m. Isotope studies showed a blood how in his left femoral artery of only 0.808 ml.100 ml.min(-1). The potential problems of sickle cell, disease combined with peripheral vascular disease were probably reduced in this patient because he had an increased fetal haemoglobin level of 13%. Despite the femoral artery being clamped for 100 min, no sickling crisis occurred.