Objectives: The aim of this study is to investigate the durability and clinical efficacy of profundoplasty as a sole procedure in patients presenting with critical limb ischaemia associated with profunda femoral artery disease and superficial femoral artery occlusion.
Methods: Retrospective analysis of outcomes from all patients who underwent surgical profundoplasty in a single tertiary referral centre was performed. Patients who presented with either rest pain or tissue loss and had combined profunda femoral artery disease and superficial femoral artery occlusion were included in the study. Outcomes were compared between the rest pain and the tissue loss groups.
Results: Between 2009 and 2019, 51 procedures were performed in 49 patients; 27 (53%) procedures were performed for rest pain and 24 (47%) for tissue loss. Technical success was 100% in both groups. Procedure success was significantly better in the rest pain group owing to lower procedure-related complications (p = 0.037). Incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events was higher in the tissue loss group with five reported cases compared to only one in the rest pain group (p = .05); 85.2% of patients with rest pain experienced clinical improvement compared to only 33.3% in the tissue loss group (p < .001). Higher rates of re-intervention were recorded in the tissue loss group, but this was not statistically significant. Amputation-free survival at 3, 6 and 12 months was 96%, 96% and 92% in the rest pain group, respectively, compared to 77%, 67% and 54% in the tissue loss group (p = .004). At one-year, freedom from major adverse limb events was lower in patients with tissue loss at 43% compared to 81% in patients with rest pain (p = .009).
Conclusions: Profundoplasty performed as a sole procedure for revascularisation of the critically ischaemic limb is a viable straightforward option. However, our results suggest that it may be more effective in the treatment of rest pain rather than in the setting of tissue loss when a combined superficial femoral artery angioplasty or distal bypass may be required.
Keywords: Critical ischaemia; profundoplasty; superficial femoral artery.