Description

Arterial perfusion is an important parameter for the capacity of wound healing in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Quantifying tissue perfusion in affected patients can help in deciding whether further revascularization is necessary to achieve wound healing and limb salvage. Not only in PAD patients with ulceration, but also in patients with rest pain or life-style limiting claudication, the measurement of arterial perfusion before and after revascularization could influence further treatment regarding surgical/interventional procedures as well as medical treatment. Digital subtraction angiography (DSA) is the gold standard for the evaluation of peripheral arterial outflow and for quality assessment after revascularization. However, angiography only displays the larger arteries and not tissue perfusion itself, which is crucial for wound healing. In this study, the change of tissue perfusion measured with the different standard diagnostic tools (toe pressure, trans-cutaneous oxygen pressure, ankle-brachial index and fluorescence angiography) before and after standard revascularization procedures will be evaluated.