Abstract
Critical limb ischemia (CLI) is the most advanced form of peripheral arterial disease. Plastic surgeons are having more and more opportunities to examine such patients.
In the absence of timely revascularization, CLI carries a high risk of mortality and amputation. Revascularization by either bypass surgery or percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) is considered the first-choice treatment in patients with CLI. Over the past decade, endovascular revascularization has rapidly become the preferred primary treatment strategy for CLI, especially for the treatment of below-the-knee disease. However, the optimal revascularization strategy in patients with CLI is unclear. Treatment of a patient with CLI is challenging and requires a multi-disciplinary approach to achieve effective management that involves a team of individuals proficient in various aspects of vascular disease, so we took the initiative in establishing a wound care center in 2009. On sharing the algorithm with the team, treatments for the salvage of critically ischemic legs go smoothly.
