PURPOSE: We herein review the long-term results of our series of critical ischemic limbs caused by Buerger's disease. METHODS: A retrospective review of 103 patients with critical limb ischemia who were diagnosed with Buerger's disease by Shionoya's criteria between 1980 and 2010. RESULTS: The age of onset was 38.0 ± 9.7 years (mean ± SD). The median follow-up was 97 months. Thirty-three patients had pain at rest, and 65 patients presented with ischemic ulcers in their toes and/or fingers. Gangrene was present in five patients. Sixteen patients achieved remission with medical therapy and smoking cessation. Sixty-six patients underwent sympathectomy. Bypass to the crural arteries was performed in 23 limbs, with assisted primary patency rates of 67.0 and 45.6 % at five and 10 years. Graft failure caused major amputation in two out of 10 smokers, but no limbs were lost among the 12 ex-smokers. Therapeutic angiogenesis using cell transplantation led to improvement in three ex-smokers; however, amputation was unavoidable in the one smoker who was treated. The limb salvage rate at 20 years was 90 % in ex-smokers and 69 % in smokers, which was not significantly different. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated no significant difference in the limb salvage rate between ex-smokers and smokers. Our results do not support any advantageous effect of smoking cessation on the long-term remission in patients with Buerger's disease.
PURPOSE: We herein review the long-term results of our series of critical ischemic limbs caused by Buerger's disease. METHODS: A retrospective review of 103 patients with critical limb ischemia who were diagnosed with Buerger's disease by Shionoya's criteria between 1980 and 2010. RESULTS: The age of onset was 38.0 ± 9.7 years (mean ± SD). The median follow-up was 97 months. Thirty-three patients had pain at rest, and 65 patients presented with ischemic ulcers in their toes and/or fingers. Gangrene was present in five patients. Sixteen patients achieved remission with medical therapy and smoking cessation. Sixty-six patients underwent sympathectomy. Bypass to the crural arteries was performed in 23 limbs, with assisted primary patency rates of 67.0 and 45.6 % at five and 10 years. Graft failure caused major amputation in two out of 10 smokers, but no limbs were lost among the 12 ex-smokers. Therapeutic angiogenesis using cell transplantation led to improvement in three ex-smokers; however, amputation was unavoidable in the one smoker who was treated. The limb salvage rate at 20 years was 90 % in ex-smokers and 69 % in smokers, which was not significantly different. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated no significant difference in the limb salvage rate between ex-smokers and smokers. Our results do not support any advantageous effect of smoking cessation on the long-term remission in patients with Buerger's disease.
Authors: Alexandre Le Joncour; Simon Soudet; Axelle Dupont; Olivier Espitia; Fabien Koskas; Philippe Cluzel; Pierre Yves Hatron; Joseph Emmerich; Patrice Cacoub; Matthieu Resche-Rigon; Marc Lambert; David Saadoun Journal: J Am Heart Assoc Date: 2018-12-04 Impact factor: 5.501