Leg Angioplasty for non healing Diabetic Foot Ulceration

Thuis gentleman has kindly agreed to share his experiences of treatment for foot ulcers. He underwent a minimally invasive procedure - angioplasty under local anaesthetic which is performed as a day case procedure in the interventional radiology suite.

This gentleman has kindly agreed to share his experience from treatment of critical limb ischaemia with ulcer and bone infection (osteomyelitis). Apart from peripheral vascular disease he suffered from type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, prostate cancer and high cholesterol. After work up, which included lung function test (spirometry - assessing lungs capacity), echo and diagnostic angiogram he underwent popliteal-posterior tibial artery bypass with long saphenous vein as a conduit.

Coronary angioplasty, also known as Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI), is a procedure that aims to restore blood flow to the muscle of the heart. Like any other muscle, the heart muscle needs a good blood supply. The coronary arteries take blood to the heart muscle. When there is narrowing of one or more of your coronary arteries this causes angina (chest pain). The narrowing is caused by fatty deposits called plaques in the coronary arteries. This is called Coronary Heart Disease (CHD). Coronary angioplasty is a procedure where a narrowed section of a coronary artery is widened by using a balloon and stent [a small mesh tube] through the catheter in the coronary blood vessel. The aim of coronary angioplasty is to treat CHD and restore blood flow to the muscle of the heart and resultant improvement in symptoms of angina.

This diabetic gentleman had previously had a right leg amputation due to gangrene. He describes having a left leg bypass from the femoral artery in the groin to the distal vessels in his calf using his own long saphenous vein. This preserved his one remaining leg and maintained his mobility. The bypass graft was kept under surveillance which revealed narrowing developing in the upper part of the graft. This was treated with what is called a patch plasty to widen the area so as to prevent the graft from failing.

Experience of complex distal leg bypass by a gentleman with diabetic foot ulceration. The radial artery in the arm was harvested and used to bypass a blockage in the lower leg. The bypass from was from the lower anterior tibial artery in the leg to the dorsalis pedis artery in the foot.

This gentleman kindly shares his experiences of having short distance claudication - not being able to walk more than a few meters at a time. He shares how he decided to have surgery done through an incision (cut) in his belly and how he is not living a much healthier lifestyle and exercising.