Severe limb ischemia syndrome.

Abstract

In the course of the study of the syndrome of severe limb ischemia (SLI) in a representative clinical material of 300 patients and a number of experimental studies, we arrived to the proposal of this optimal methodical procedure for acute vascular closures of traumatic and non-traumatic origin in the limbs: a) In every injury and sudden pain with a change of the function of the limb, it is necessary to think of the SLI syndrome and to search targetedly for it. b) In injuries connected with bleeding our first-rate task is the control of this bleeding. For a temporary arrest of the bleeding it is necessary to prefer more physiological methods sparing collateral circulation to the still most used tourniquet. For this purpose a new device for temporary hemostasis called Hemostop has proved itself, designed by the author and attested both experimentally and clinically, protected as a Czechoslovak patent. From surgical measures have acquitted themselves from this viewpoint the insertion of vascular clamp, ligature of the vessel or its temporary cannulation. c) To set the diagnosis of SLI, it usually suffices a careful anamnesis and clinical examination, advantageous is the investigation by ultrasound. The angiography because of time consumption should be used only in indicated cases. d) The time factor--"race against the time"--has to be always borne on our mind. It is necessary to achieve the recovery of blood circulation in the limb up to 6 or at the latest up to 10 hours from the onset of injury or closure. e) For shortening of the period of tissue hypoxia it is of advantage to use the temporary cannulation of injured vessels. This should be used always, whenever because of any reasons, it is not possible to execute the final reconstructive operation up to 10 hours since the injury, e. g. in polytraumatism, transport difficulties and the like. f) In isolated vascular injuries without bleeding (about 45%) and in all non-traumatic SLI the patients must be efficiently heparinized (i. v. administration, at best by infusion) to prevent the growth of the distal thrombus. g) Final vascular reconstruction should be performed only by erudited surgeons, always with thromboctomy and in protected coagulum. Optimal reconstructive performance should be chosen: for embolism the thromboembolectomy, for acute thrombosis usually the bypassing the afflicted vascular portion by the graft, in injuries appears as the optimal reconstructive measure the anastomosis end to end. At the simultaneous or isolated lesion of the stem vein, we must always try to reconstruct it.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)