Management of acute lower extremity arterial ischemia due to embolism and thrombosis

Despite a general impression to the contrary, a recent survey showed that the current mortality rate for acute arterial ischemia approximates 25%. Much of this apparently relates to toxins and procoagulants released from the dying limb, a tendency which may be enhanced further by attempts at revascularization. Based on these observations, we have utilized selective management of acute arterial ischemia in an attempt to minimize deaths and to salvage the maximum number of limbs. If the patient presents within 6 to 8 hours of the onset of acute arterial occlusion and if paralysis or anesthesia is present, then ultimate limb loss is likely. The therapeutic choices are high-dose heparin therapy, operative removal of the clot, or amputation of the limb--the ultimate choice being dependent upon the particular status of the patient. But if sensation and motor function are present, viability of the limb is not threatened, and good results can be obtained by utilizing anticoagulation and delayed elective revascularization, if the latter is indicated. But revascularization attempts after 10 to 12 hours of severe ischemia often are unsuccessful, and ischemia is followed by either recurrent thrombosis and ultimate limb loss, or by death from the systemic effects of reperfusion of ischemic tissue. This type of limb is managed best by using high-dose heparin therapy if viable, or by amputation if it is not. Employing the above criteria, 54 patients with acute arterial ischemia averaging 59 years of age, were treated. Seventeen had immediate thrombectomy, yielding two deaths and four subsequent amputations. Twenty-nine received anticoagulation treatment, resulting in one death and five amputations, and six had immediate amputation, yielding one death. Three had no specific treatment, with one poor result. There were four deaths in the entire series--a mortality rate of 7.5%--and two thirds of the limbs were salvaged. We have concluded that selective management, as prescribed above, was responsible for a significant decrease in mortality rate with no corresponding increase in limb loss, and that high-dose heparin therapy ultimately may prove the initial treatment of choice in all cases of acute arterial ischemia.