Foot amputations

When presented with an ischemic limb with forefoot necrosis of varying amounts, the surgeon often categorizes the need for amputation into toe, ray, transmetatarsal, below-knee, and above-knee. Adherence to this type of algorithm ensures a primary above- or below-knee amputation rate of 10% to 20%. The utility of the more uncommon amputations advocated here is an increase of limbs deemed eligible for revascularization and limb salvage. Furthermore, delaying the amputations until the vascular supply is normalized maximizes tissue salvage and minimizes prolonged hospitalizations with multiple amputations performed as a prelude to major amputation. Although these amputations are often looked upon as an afterthought by many vascular surgeons, careful execution here is as important to effective limb salvage as any distal bypass procedure.