Limb ischaemia

Limb ischaemia occurs when blood flow to the limbs is severely restricted by fatty deposits on artery walls.

Symptoms include:

• A severe burning pain in your legs and feet even when you are resting; the pain often occurs at night and episodes of pain can last several hours.
• Your skin turns pale, shiny, smooth and dry.
• You have wounds and ulcers (open sores) in your feet and legs that show no sign of healing.
• The muscles in your legs begin to waste away.
• The skin on your toes or lower limbs become cold and numb and turns reddish and then black or begins to swell and produce foul-smelling pus, causing severe pain.

If you think you are developing the symptoms of limb ischaemia, contact your doctor immediately.

Treatment includes angioplasty or bypass graft. However, these may not always be successful and you may later require an amputation below the knee.

It is an extremely serious complication that can be challenging to treat and if combined with an infection can result in patient death.

Source: NHS Choices, UK (Complications of peripheral arterial disease)