title: The potential benefit of pre-operative assessment of amputation wound healing potential in peripheral vascular disease.
abstract: Choosing the most distal amputation level that will heal is difficult in patients with peripheral vascular disease. From 1984 to 1988, 965 patients underwent 1,563 amputations for lower limb peripheral vascular disease at King Edward VIII Hospital, Durban. The primary amputation revision rate was 51% with a mortality rate of 23.1%. Random pre-operative assessment of amputation wound healing potential using a transcutaneous oxygen pressure index was investigated over the 4-year period, 1987-1990. This was responsible for a reduction in the amputation revision rate to 8.2% in patients tested.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Natal, Durban.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mars
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Mills
authors.forename: J V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Robbs
mesh_terms: D000671:Amputation, Surgical; D001785:Blood Gas Monitoring, Transcutaneous; D006801:Humans; D016491:Peripheral Vascular Diseases / Q000191:economics / Q000601:surgery*; D011300:Preoperative Care; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology*