The preventive use of epidural calcitonin improved the grade of phantom pain and reduced the incidence of allodynia and hyperalgesia in patients undergoing lower limb amputation under combined spinal-epidural anesthesia during one year of follow-up.
Background: Infected Achilles tendon is difficult to manage especially in diabetic patients. Total excision of the infected tendon may provide better option for limb salvage in these patients where altered walking pattern can minimize expected subsequent functional impairment.Patients and methods: 35 diabetics with infected Achilles tendon were enrolled in this study. Nineteen patients underwent complete tendon excision (Group A) while in the remaining 16 patients, the tendon was partially excised (Group B). After wound approximation, negative pressure was applied to achieve healing by secondary intention. Initial immobilization and splinting were done followed by gradual weight bearing. Heel-rise test, activity limitation, walking difficulty on different surfaces and gait abnormalities were used to assess functional outcome.Results: Group A had significantly larger ulcer size compared to Group B (9.23 ± 2.04 vs 7.35 ± 3.30 cm2, P = 0.05). Also, mean ulcer duration was significantly longer in Group A (2.53 ± 0.75 vs 1.09 ± 0.49 months, P < 0.001). Group A showed significantly shorter healing time (3.14 ± 0.79 vs 7.05 ± 1.56 months, P < 0.001), shorter follow-up period (5.32 ± 1.6 vs 8.25 ± 2.94 months, P = 0.001) and lower reintervention rate (5.26% vs 56.25%, P < 0.001) compared to Group B. Functional assessment showed more limitation in heel-rise in total excision group, yet without significant limitation in other functional parameters, including walking ability.
Conclusion:Total excision of infected Achilles tendon in diabetic patients can give higher healing success rates with minimal functional impairment compared to partial tendon excision.
Introduction: Critical limb ischemia is usually involving a spectrum of clinical features to describe long term severe compromise limb perfusion that manifested by rest pain, with or without trophic skin changes or tissue loss, including ischemic ulceration and/or ischemic gangrene for more than two weeks. A patient who was diagnosed with infected femoral pseudo aneurysm might be misdiagnosed as a simple groin abscess, and drug abuse is the most common cause of infected femoral pseudo aneurysms. Long ilio-popliteal bypass in critical limb ischemia may be required depending on a good arterial segment as a donor and recipient.
Aim:The aim of this study was to assess the different aspects of ilio-popliteal bypass surgery as a long conduit in patients presented with critical limb ischemia and infected femoral pseudo aneurysms.Setting and design: Forty patients were admitted in the vascular surgery units, and they were diagnosed with critical lower limb ischemia. An ilio-popliteal bypass was done to save their limbs. The patients were selected and divided into two groups; A and B. Group A: This group included twenty patients suffering from atherosclerotic critical ischemia, while group B included twenty patients suffering from infected femoral pseudo-aneurysm as a result of intra-arterial drug injection and drug abuse.Patients and methods: All patients were assessed at the pre-operative stage as regards to the present conditions and symptoms related to critical lower limb ischemia; the lower limb was locally examined as well. Angiography was done for all patients. Ilio-popliteal bypass using a PTFE synthetic graft was done, with station on the deep femoral artery in certain patients, anatomically in group A, and placed laterally extra anatomic in group B after ligation of the pseudo aneurysm. One year follow up was conducted mainly clinically and by the ankle brachial pressure index (ABI).
Statistical analysis:Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version 15.0 was used. Values were compared with a paired samples t test. P values less than 0.05 were considered significant.Results: During the follow up period, the ABI values were recorded immediately after the procedure, 24 hours, one week, and then one, three, six and twelve months later. There were no significant changes in the ABI changes among patients indicating the continuation of the hemodynamic success. At the end of the study follow up period, limb salvage rate was 90%, and four major amputation following graft occlusion took place in the twenty studied patients. Primary patency was 80% as eight grafts were occluded.
Conclusions:Although the ilio-popliteal bypass is a long conduit, it is a reasonable solution for limb salvage in patients with critical limb ischemia, anatomical bypass with station on the deep femoral artery should be performed when possible, meanwhile in drug abuse cases with infected groin pseudo aneurysm, the healthy arterial axis is maintaining the patency of the long lateral extra anatomic graft.
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