Researchers from the Vascular Study Group of New England (VSGNE) have reported that prior contralateral amputation predicts worse outcomes for lower-extremity bypasses (LEBs) performed in the intact limb. The results of this retrospective analysis were published in the August issue of the Journal of Vascular Surgery.
“This is the first study conducted that suggests contralateral amputation as a predictor of outcomes after LEB for critical limb ischemia (CLI),” said co-author Donald T. Baril, MD, assistant professor in the division of vascular and endovascular surgery at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worchester, in a Society for Vascular Surgery press release.
Patients who underwent infrainguinal LEBs for CLI between 2003-2010 within hospitals comprising the VSGNE were analyzed. The study showed that patients who had a prior contralateral amputation had increased comorbidity rates, experienced increased in-hospital major adverse events, were less likely to be discharged home or to be ambulatory on discharge. Also, LEB was an independent predictor of major amputation (odds ratio, 1.73) and graft occlusion (odds ratio, 1.93) at one year.
Editor’s note: This story was adapted from materials provided by the Society for Vascular Surgery.
