Mariola Kovalevska¹

¹Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Medical Faculty

ABSTRACT

This study aim to assess the following aspects: outcomes after bypass surgery; number of reoperations and other interventions; frequency of consulting a doctor; long-term postoperative limb function. Analysis of medical record documentation covering the period 1.1.2006 – 31.12.2016 was carried out. Medical records of 244 patients who underwent distal bypass operations (venous, composite or synthetic grafts were implanted) were analysed. One of the research methods was a telephone survey asking patients to complete a questionnaire on complaints, function of the affected limb, number of interventions, operations and possible limb amputation. Another research method was patient’s examination and evaluation of limb circulation. The data were processed by MS Excel for Windows 2013 and IBM SPSS 23.0. Reliability criterion Xi was used for statistical evaluation. The results showed that the research comprised greater proportion of males. The average age of patients was 77.8 years. Even 68.85 percent of patients complained of lower limb freezing, newly developed (renewed) postoperative intermittent claudication, numbness as well as newly developed open sores (wounds). The latter proportion of respondents did not contact any health care institutions, whereas 22.21 percent of respondents complaining of the same symptoms contacted health care institutions. Nondiabetic patients were more concerned with their health and contacted health care institutions for preventive examination. As a result, reinterventions were performed to 69.23 percent of respondents. While performing the survey 22.94 percent of patients were already dead and information about their postoperative period was provided by their close relatives.Key words: bypass, postoperative period, limb