For Providers: Preventing Limb Loss - Limb Salvage Program
As a primary care provider, you understand the impact of peripheral artery
disease (PAD) on your patients’ lives and limbs. It effects approximately
6.5 million people age 40 and older in the United States. Besides hypertension
and hyperlipidemia, diabetes, smoking and kidney disease are some of the
biggest risk factors for the development of PAD.
PAD causes decreased blood flow in the legs and may cause leg pain with
walking or even at rest. Furthermore, it can cause non-healing ulcers
or gangrene. In the end, these patients are at a high risk for limb loss
over time. Early detection and subsequent treatment are paramount to the
care of these patients.
Valley Health offers a comprehensive limb salvage program that promotes
early detection and treatment of patients with PAD who are at high risk
for limb loss. This is a multidisciplinary team of vascular surgeons,
interventional radiologists, interventional cardiologists, podiatrists
and wound care specialists. We are here to work alongside you in a comprehensive
fashion to care for your patients and prevent limb loss.
Early Detection
At-risk patients should have routine pedal exams and pulse checks. Diabetic
patients should have checks every six months and routine care by a podiatrist.
Patients with positive exam findings should be referred for ABI testing.
Valley Health offers vascular imaging services, including arterial duplex
and ankle brachial index (ABI) testing. This is essential for early detection
and will help guide therapeutic treatment strategies.
Patients with an ABI of >0.7 should continue to have regular pedal exams.
When to Refer Patients
Patients with an ABI of <0.7
Patients with pain with walking (claudication), rest pain, ulcerations/wounds,
gangrene or foot infection
At-risk patients should have routine pedal exams and pulse checks. Diabetic
patients should have checks every six months and routine care by a podiatrist.
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