Leg Amputation due to Buerger’s Disease: Management with Combined Korean Medicine

In this Case Report, a patient with Buerger’s disease who had a leg amputation below his lower right knee and a vascular bypass of right leg, developed a wound caused by his prosthetic leg and subjective discomfort. The patient received skin flap surgery but the wound did not heal properly. He was admitted to the Korean Medicine Hospital where his wound, right leg coldness, and phantom pain were treated with combined Korean medicine. The patient was hospitalized again where he underwent micro-drilling surgery. The patient was re-admitted to the Korean Medicine Hospital where he received combined Korean medicine treatment (CKMT) and carbon arc light treatment (CALT) for his wound, leg coldness, stiffness, and hypoplasia. The temperature of his right leg increased, the numeric rating scale score for assessing pain fell from 5 to 1.5, and subjective discomfort was reduced (< 20%) suggesting this may be an effective treatment.

CURRENT SCENARIOS IN MANAGEMENT OF BUERGER'S DISEASE AT TERTIARY HOSPITAL UTTARAKHAND

Introduction / Background: Buerger's disease is a systemic vasculitis of unknown etiology, strongly associated with tobacco abuse worldwide. Buerger described Thromboangiitis obliterans (TAO) in 1908. High prevalence is found in Asian / Middle East countries. The survival rate of TAO is almost 90%. Presently, total abstinence from tobacco is the mainstay of treatment. Aim: To determine the incidence, progression, etiology, impact of seasonal variations on admission, as well as, presentations, and treatment outcomes at our tertiary health care hospital in Uttarakhand region. Materials: Patients of Buerger's disease admitted to our Institute during January 2015 to December 2019, were included in this study. Methods: Retrospective analysis and study of 142 patients of Buerger's disease admitted at our institute. Results: Most patients were males (97%), with mean age 38.6 years. The incidence & total TAO admission were overall decreasing during these years. Trends showed that eighty two (58%) patients were admitted between months of November to February (cold weather), while least in summers (15%). More than 50% were severe smokers (>30 bidi / cigarette per day). Pain in limbs was present in 77.4% cases. Major amputations were done in (12) 8% cases, while digital / finger / forefoot amputations in 31.69% / 3.52% / 10.58.% cases respectively. Lumbar sympathectomy was done in twelve cases. The median requirement of analgesic (opioids) by intravenous & oral route was 10 & 12 doses initially, & mean VAS score on day-1, 5 & 10 was 6.4, 4.1 & 2.9 respectively. Conclusion: We conclude that incidence of TAO overall shows a decreasing trend, with better health practices. Admissions peak in the cold season, along with complaints related to painful / ulcerated limbs, with a strong association with tobacco abuse. Complete stopping of tobacco can halt further progression of TAO.

Intestinal thromboangiitis obliterans: a case report

Background Thromboangiitis obliterans or Buerger’s disease is a form of peripheral vascular disease in young male smokers. The involvement of the intestine occurs in only about 2% of the cases, when they may present as acute abdomen due to mesenteric ischemia. The uncommonness of the condition makes it a less suspected differential diagnosis, leading to a delay in appropriate management, thereby increasing chances of morbidity or mortality. Cessation of smoking is known to stall the disease progression including visceral involvement, but may not always be the case as happened in the case being presented. Case presentation Our Indian Hindu male patient, a known smoker, presented with diffuse abdominal pain along with bouts of vomiting and loose motions. He had a prior history of amputation of the right foot, 4 years before. At presentation he had abdominal distension with diffuse tenderness and guarding. An omental band attached to the tip of the appendix was discovered at the initial exploration along with dilated proximal bowel loops, for which a release of the omental band along with appendectomy was done. He developed an enterocutaneous fistula on the 6th postoperative day for which he had to be reexplored, and multiple jejunal perforations were found. Segmental jejunal resection and a Roux-en-Y gastrojejunostomy with distal ileostomy were done along with a feeding jejunostomy. The patient however again had feculent discharge from the wound for which a third exploration was done. The gastrojejunostomy and feeding jejunostomy sites were leaky, both of which were repaired primarily. The patient developed septicemia which progressed to refractory septic shock, and he ultimately succumbed to his illness on the 23rd postoperative day of the index surgery. Conclusion Acute abdomen in a young man who is a chronic smoker and having an antecedent history of amputation of some part of an extremity for a nontraumatic cause should raise the suspicion of Buerger’s disease of the intestine. Although it is a progressive disease and the situation has already progressed by the time intestinal symptoms manifest, early detection may give some scope of salvage and decrease the morbidity and mortality.