[Treatment of critical lower limb ischemia--where are we standing at the turn of the Millennium?]

Abstract

The treatment of chronic critical limb ischaemia (CLI) is a very important and constantly developing field of vascular surgery. The high incidence of CLI (50-100/100,000 inhabitants [10]) means that vascular surgeons at a district general hospital/county hospital, providing care for 250-300,000 people, see about 120-150 cases in a year, 70-75% of them needing elective or acute intervention. We have witnessed many important changes over the last 1-2 decades in the management of this substantial field of vascular surgery. The in situ technique, angioscopically assisted valvulotomy, venous cuffs and A-V fistulae at the distal anastomosis of an infrainguinal bypass, the intraluminal and subintimal angioplasty-technique in hand, graft-surveillance programmes and the more aggressive treatment of graft-infection all provide a potentially better chance for limb salvage. Do we follow the trends and seize them?