Management of Acute Lower Extremity Ischemia: Treatment Strategies and Outcome

Acute limb ischemia is a result of decreased arterial perfusion resulting in inadequate tissue perfusion. The severity of symptoms and urgency for treatment depends on the status of the collateral circulation. Therapy should be directed toward both systemic and local factors. Treatment is by open surgery, thrombolysis, or percutaneous thrombectomy. Unfortunately, none of the treatment modalities have proven to be the golden standard for limb salvage and patient survival. Review of current literature and a multimodality approach for the management of acute limb ischemia is presented in this article.