title: Amputation of the toes for vascular disease: fate of the affected leg.
abstract: 53 patients coming to amputation of one or more toes for the late results of degenerative vascular disease were studied prospectively. By a median time of thirteen months, 26 of the 53 had undergone a major amputation of the affected side. Diabetes was associated with the same prognosis as atherosclerosis obliterans uncomplicated by diabetes. A palpable pedal pulse or a functioning arterial reconstruction carried a virtual guarantee of success for the toe amputation. The presence of a popliteal pulse, however, was not associated with any better prognosis than the presence of a femoral pulse alone. Smoking seemed to exert little influence. With the passage of time, the major-amputation rate rose steadily, and by 3 1/2 years almost three-quarters of the patients had come to major amputation.
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000671:Amputation, Surgical; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000601:surgery*; D003925:Diabetic Angiopathies / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D005263:Femoral Artery; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg / Q000098:blood supply*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011150:Popliteal Artery; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011674:Pulse; D014034:Toes / Q000601:surgery*