Long-term results of proximal and distal reconstructions in patients with lower limb arteries diffuse lesions and diabetes mellitus

Relevance . Treatment of diffuse lesions of the arteries of the lower extremities is often reduced to primary amputation at the hip level, since the healing of trophic ulcers is not guaranteed during arterial reconstruction. Profundoplasty without distal bypass surgery can be considered an alternative method. The aim of this study is to compare the long-term results of distal shunting and isolated profundoplasty in patients with diffuse lesions of the lower limb arteries and trophic ischemic ulcers. Materials and Methods . The study included 86 patients with diffuse lesions of the lower limb arteries. There were 52 (60.4%) men and 34 (39.6%) women. The average age was 67.3 ± 16.8 years. All patients had diffuse lesions of the arteries below the pupar ligament, the state of the lower leg arteries was 5-8.5 points on the Rutherford scale, in all cases there were trophic ulcers. Group 1 included 48 patients who underwent reconstruction of the leg arteries. Group 2 consisted of 38 individuals who had limited intervention with endarcteriotomy from common femoral and deep femoral arteries. Results and Discussion . Amputations at the hip level were performed within a year in 11 (23.4%) patients of group 1 and in 3 (6.3%) patients within 30 days after surgery. Thus, 14 (29.7%) patients lost their limbs. A comparative analysis revealed that the group of patients with amputations had a more severe form of diabetes (p = 0.003), an outflow score on the Rutherford scale (p <0.001), and lower transcutaneous oxygen tension values before and after surgery. Within 12 months after the bypass surgery, the primary patency of the shunts was 65.9% (thrombosis occurred in 16 patients). Conclusion . The preservation of the limb in patients in our study by the end of 1 year after reconstruction is similar regardless of the reconstruction method. Given the minimal invasion during profundoplasty, this operation may be the method of choice for diffuse lesions of the arteries of the lower extremities.