One hundred and two diabetic and non-diabetic patients with severe
vascular disease of the lower extremities were studied in the vascular
laboratory at the Mayo Clinic prior to amputation. The level of amputation
was chosen on the basis of clinical findings alone. Sixty-seven of the
amputations were the classic below-the-knee type. The tests performed
included determinations of segmental systolic pressures of the arm, thigh,
calf, and ankle determined with the Doppler ultrasonic velocity detector.
Contrary to other reports, we found no demonstrable relationship between
calf pressure or calf-arm pressure index and the degree of healing of
below-the-knee amputations in diabetic or non-diabetic patients.