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Five ways to save your legs – from a vascular surgery specialist
Jan
Gangrene, i.e. a rapidly spreading foot abscess. Sounds like a disease of the past? Well, unfortunately not.
Leg amputation is one of the oldest surgical procedures. The oldest known example dates back to historic times approximately 31,000 years. With the advent of current surgery in the 19th century, amputations due to trauma and infection were common. In the days before anesthesia, surgeons had to hurry: Robert Liston, who was eminent for his speed, was reportedly able to perform amputation in 30 seconds.
Although surgical practice has changed dramatically since then, one thing remains true: leg amputation is still all too common. Vascular surgeons have performed over 3,500 major leg amputations Great Britain in 2023.
Peripheral artery disease is main cause of amputation Currently. Narrowing and blockages in the arteries of the legs lead to reduced blood flow to the legs and feet. This initially manifests itself as pain in the calf muscles when walking, but may progress to pain at rest, foot ulcers and even gangrene.
Prevention and prompt treatment of peripheral arterial disease are imperative. According to a Danish study from 2024 strict arrangements: five years after diagnosis of peripheral arterial disease, 10% of patients had amputation and 40% died.
However, legs (and lives) can still be saved – even in the final stages of the disease – if they are treated quickly enough. Here are five ways to reduce your risk of amputation.
1. Fit lifestyle
Don’t smoke. And if you smoke, stop now.
In the same way smoking clogs the coronary and carotid arteries, causing heart attacks and strokes, smoking can clog the arteries in the legs, causing peripheral artery disease.
Read more: Peripheral artery disease – the biggest killer you’ve probably never heard of
Even if you already have the disease, quitting smoking slows its progression improves the effectiveness of treatment.
Diabetes is the second major modifiable risk factor for the development of arterial disease. Although neither diet nor obesity are strongly linked to peripheral arterial disease, eating well and maintaining a robust diet can cause it prevent type II diabetes.
Diabetic foot disease – caused by a combination of complications of diabetes, including peripheral artery disease – is the leading cause of leg amputations. If you have diabetes, it is crucial to keep your blood sugar levels within the target range reduce the risk occurrence of complications, including diabetic foot and amputation.
2. Walk a lot
Physical activity is truly one of the best medicines. Just 30 minutes a day of moderate intensity exercise is enough I recommend helping improve cardiovascular health. A quick walk, working in the garden, even ballroom dancing – anything that increases your heart rate and breathing.
Even for people with early-stage peripheral arterial disease, walking is one of the most effective treatments. And although organized an exercise program is recommendedany walk – especially before the onset of pain (or in the past) – will improve your walking distance and quality of life.
Read more: Five ways to make your daily walks even more useful
3. Take your pills
The benefits of using medications for peripheral arterial disease are unquestionable. The basis of this treatment is to slim the blood with antiplatelet drugs (such as aspirin) and cholesterol-lowering drugs (statins). These drugs taken together significantly reduce the risk heart attacks and strokes – the main causes of death in people with peripheral artery diseases. They also reduce the risk of amputation.
Research suggests that strict adherence to the guidelines in UK patients would reduce their ten-year risk of heart attack, stroke or death by almost 30%.
4. Good footwear and foot care
Ill-fitting and inappropriate footwear is a common cause of foot ulcers in people at risk. This is especially true for people with diabetes, who often experience numbness, and abrasions caused by ill-fitting footwear may go unnoticed until it is too delayed.
Properly fitting shoes that are wide enough to allow room for all your toes are recommended. People with foot deformities caused by diabetes may require shoes specially made or customized by an orthopedist, a health care professional who designs and creates shoes intended to reduce pain and enhance patient mobility.
All adults with diabetes should have it annual foot inspection on sensation, pulse and ulcers. It is also crucial to frequently check your feet yourself – especially the spaces between the toes, heel and ball of the foot, which are common places for ulcers. But they can be challenging to spot without looking for them.
People with diabetes often have arid feet, so moisturize your feet twice a day with an over-the-counter water-based cream. And if you have numbness in your feet, never, ever clip your toenails! Regularly visit a podiatrist who will do this for you.
5. Don’t ignore the symptoms
Finally, seek urgent lend a hand if you or someone you know shows any signs of foot risk. Pain in your toes or heel at night or at rest; a foot wound that has not healed for two weeks; any bluish or purple discoloration or arid black spots on your fingers.
Your GP should refer you to a vascular surgeon urgently if they are concerned that you have end-stage peripheral arterial disease – chronic limb-threatening ischemiawhere the leg is at risk without quickly restoring the blood supply.
In such cases urgent treatment can save your feet and legs.
