The five-year results of reconstructive surgery for critical lower limb ischemia

This paper analyzes the immediate and long-term (5-year), results of 251 reconstructive operations accomplished for critical lower limb ischemia in 240 patients (stage III chronic arterial insufficiency was present in 135 and stage IV in 105 patients), with introduction of the unified criteria. The outcomes were compared in patients who had undergone revascularization above the Poupart's ligament -- 149 cases (100 cases of proximal reconstruction and 49 of two-level reconstruction) and beneath the Poupart's ligament (102 cases) as dependent on the stage and character of reattachment of the limb peripheral system. The study of the changes in the patients' status, the shifts in hemodynamics, the cumulative bypass patency and limb salvage has revealed the great priority of the choice of two-level reconstructions in patients with multilevel occlusions in stage IV chronic limb arterial insufficiency.