Reamputation in a cohort of critical limb ischemia patients surviving 2 years after minor amputation

Excerpt

The prognosis of critical limb ischemia (CLI) patients is generally poor, and the 5-year mortality rate is higher than that of colorectal cancer [1]. In the perioperative period of amputation for gangrene of the foot, there are cases of death and cases where patients cannot undergo surgery due to poor general condition. The diagnostic criteria of CLI are varied and include mild cases where there is no wound on the lower limb but pain at rest. Because of this, it is difficult for wound care workers to prognosticate about CLI patients they are in charge of. Therefore, we examined the outcomes 2 years after surgery for patients with diabetic nephropathy on hemodialysis with wounds healed after treatment with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) and minor amputations for cases where patients were able to walk using therapeutic footwear. Since roughly 2 out of every 5 such patients die, it is considered necessary to provide an economically efficient solution for improving the wellbeing of these patients [2]. At the same time, reamputation is a serious problem for survivors after conservative amputation surgery, as wellbeing is affected. Therefore, we looked at reamputation rates within 2 years from surgery along with 2-year survival. …