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| Lower Extremity Revascularization | |
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LOWER EXTREMITY BYPASS The following is intended to be helpful information following recovery from a lower extremity bypass. Goals: This operation is intended to improve the blood flow to your lower extremity to assist with symptoms of leg pain or weakens (claudication) or to assist with improving blood flow to help heal a wound. Technique-How is it performed? In general, most patients are admitted on the day of their operation. The majority of lower extremely bypasses are performed utilizing general anesthesia. The operation takes approximately 3-4 hours. An incision will be made in the leg overlying the artery. You may have multiple incisions on your leg depending on the areas which need to be bypassed. We may harvest some superficial vein from your leg to perform the bypass or we may use an artificial material to perform the bypass. This will be at the discretion of your surgeon. The vein or the bypass material will then be sewn to the artery above and below the lesion to provide improved blood flow. The wounds are then closed, and a wrap is placed on the leg. What are the risks? Risks of a lower extremity bypass include, but are not limited to: death, stroke, heart attack, mini stroke, infection, bleeding, hematoma, poor blood flow to the leg necessitating return to the operation room. In general, a lower extremity bypass is a safe operation with minimal risks to the patient. Those patients who have additional risk factors for coronary artery disease may need to undergo special preoperative cardiac screening with a stress test. This will be at the discretion of your surgeon. What about recovery? Following the operation, most patients return to the regular patient floor. Some patients may require an overnight stay in the intensive care unit for special monitoring. Most patients are discharged to home 4-7 days following the procedure. You may have some steri-strips overlying the incisions. You may get in the shower daily and wash your incisions. The steri-strips will curl up after several days, and you can gently remove them. You will be requested to wear a compression stocking to reduce swelling and to facilitate healing. This is to be placed first thing in the morning and may be removed at night. You will also be instructed to elevate your leg when you are not ambulatory (walking). We generally do want you to get up and walk for 10-15 minutes every few hours to facilitate blood flow and help avoid blood clots. Some patients may experience difficulty with poor appetite or easy fatigue following the operation. This is generally a consequence of the anesthesia and should resolve with time. In general, we advise those patients to take frequent naps as needed and encourage you to eat what appeals to you. We are not that concerned with following a strict low fat, low cholesterol diet at this time. You need calories to heal from the operation. |
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