Daytime and scheduled surgery for major dysvascular lower extremity amputation

INTRODUCTION: Patients undergoing a major dysvascular lower extremity amputation (LEA) often have a poor outcome with a high risk of complications and mortality despite improvements in care and perioperative programmes. We evaluated whether scheduled surgery would reduce the failure rate in patients with a major LEA.

METHODS: A total of 328 consecutive patients undergoing a major LEA from 2016 to 2019 were enrolled at a single centre. Early failure was defined as re-amputation or revision within 30 days of the index amputation. In 2018, a new regime comprising two scheduled surgery days was implemented. The risk of failure comparing the two cohorts (2016-2017, n = 165 versus 2018-2019, n = 163) was calculated for amputation on scheduled versus non-scheduled days and for other potentially influencing factors.

RESULTS: The median (25-75% quartiles) age of all patients was 74 (66-83) years, 91% had an American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) grade ≥ 3 and 92% had atherosclerosis or diabetes mellitus. The index amputee levels were 36% below-knee, 60% transfemoral and 4% bilateral transfemoral. In the intervention cohort, 59% were amputated on the scheduled days versus 36% in the control group (p less-than 0.001). Correspondingly, more patients (72.4% versus 57.6%, p = 0.005) were amputated during daytime and the 30-day failure rate was reduced to 11.0% (n = 18) versus 16.4% (n = 27) (p = 0.2). Risk of failure on scheduled days in the intervention group was 8.3% versus 14.9% on any other day (p = 0.2). Correspondingly, daytime surgery reduced the risk of failure (6.8% versus 22.2%, p = 0.005).

CONCLUSION: Daytime and scheduled surgery for major LEA may possibly reduce early risk of failure.

FUNDING: none.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: not relevant.