Abstract
Objectives: This study examined the effect of postoperative gait rehabilitation on wound healing in patients who had undergone lower extremity bypass surgery for critical limb ischemia（CLI）.
Methods: A total of 74 patients who had been treated with lower extremity bypass surgery for CLI and comprehensive rehabilitation within the period between 2014 and 2017 were classified into walking and non-walking groups based on their discharge functional independence measure（FIM）scores were used to compare the patient background and wound healing and amputation-free survival（AFS）rates.
Results: Fifty-five（74%）patients were discharged with the ability to walk and 64（86%）achieved wound healing. There were no significant differences between the 2 groups in the wound healing rate based on the Kaplan-Meier method（6-month rate: walking; 82% and non-walking; 85%; p=0.75）. The AFS rate was significantly higher in the walking group（3-year rate: 60 and 16%, respectively; p=0.047）.
Conclusion: Gait rehabilitation after lower extremity bypass surgery is unlikely to negatively affect wound healing, and the ability to walk may improve the prognosis.
