BACKGROUND: Carotid arterial reconstruction is hard to cure the extensive lesions of carotid arteries and subclavian arteries in patients with brachiocephalic arteritis; however, transthoracic arterial bypass surgery provides an opportunity for the treatment of brachiocephalic arteritis.OBJECTIVE: To report the improving effects of transthoracic arterial bypass surgery on the clinical symptoms of severe cerebral ischemia induced by brachiocephalic arteritis and observe the occurrence of complications after the intervention.DESIGN: Case observation.SETTING: Department of Vascular Surgery, Union Hospital Affiliated to Tongji Medical College,Huazhong University of Science and Technology.PARTICIPANTS: Fifteen patients with Takayasu arteritis, including 1 male and 14 females, were selected from Department of Vascular Surgery, Wuhan Union Hospital from June 2003 to June 2007. Their ages ranged from 16 to 37 years. All patients were finally diagnosed by clinical histories, health examinations and color Doppler det

来源：中国神经再生研究（英文版） 2007 年 2卷 11期