ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION When managing a patient with critical limb ischemia (CLI), the goal of any treatment is to relieve pain, preserve functional tissue, and maintain mobility of the individual. Vascular surgeons in general agree on the criteria used to assess the success or failure of open surgical treatments. Is the bypass graft patent? Is the limb still attached? Has our patient’s health been adversely affected in some unexpected way by the procedure we performed? Are the answers to these questions the same at six months, one year, and five years?
