Prospective 2-years follow-up quality of life study after infrageniculate bypass surgery for limb salvage: lasting improvements only in non-diabetic patients.

OBJECTIVES To assess health-related quality of life (HRQoL) up to 24 months after successful infrageniculate bypass surgery for limb-threatening ischaemia. METHODS 89 patients with infrageniculate bypass surgery for limb-salvage were studied. HRQoL was assessed using the Short Form (SF)-36v1 questionnaire before, 6, 12, and 24 months after revascularisation. RESULTS 47 patients (53%) with intact limb and functioning graft were assessed after 24 months, 27 patients (30%) died, further 7 required secondary amputation, 3 suffered irremediable graft occlusion, and 4 were lost to follow-up. The 24-months HRQoL-values were significantly improved in 4 domains: physical functioning (p<0.01), bodily pain (p<0.01), mental health (p=0.04), and social functioning (p=0.01). Except for baseline-values, HRQoL remained inferior in diabetics compared to non-diabetics throughout follow-up. Maximum improvement of HRQoL was delayed in diabetics (12 months vs. 6 months) and less pronounced. After 24 months non-diabetic patients maintained improvement in 5 domains and diabetic patients only in bodily pain. CONCLUSIONS Improvement in HRQoL is sustained for more than 12 months after successful infrageniculate bypass surgery. Therefore, an aggressive approach towards revascularisation seems to be justified from the patient's perspective. However, this benefit in quality of life is less in diabetic patients, despite similar limb-salvage rates.