Lumbar sympathectomy in the treatment of intermittent claudication : an objective study

Abstract

Sympathectomy in twenty legs suffering from atherosclerotic peripheral vascular disease made no improvement in the muscle blood flow as detected objectively by the Technetium (⁹⁹ᵐTc) Clearance Technique in nineteen of these legs. It is postulated that intermittent claudication per se is not an indication for sympathectomy although the operation may have a place in the treatment of early nutritional disturbances in the ischaemic leg. The object of this paper is to present the results of an objective study on a series of patients, all complaining of intermittent claudication who were assessed both clinically and objectively using a radio-active tracer technique before and after they had undergone lumbar sympathectomy