Measurement of skin perfusion pressure by photoelectric technique--an aid to amputation level selection in arteriosclerotic disease.

During a period of 14 months 60 amputations, 41 below-knee and 19 above-knee, were performed on 54 patients with gangrene of the lower limb. Wound healing was evaluated in 59 amputations. A newly introduced standardized photoelectric technique for measurement of the local skin perfusion pressure (SPP) was used preoperatively, the result of which served as a guide to the selection of the proper amputation level. An overall healing rate of 90 per cent was found. Sixty-eight per cent of the amputations were performed below-knee. The healing rates for individual SPP levels were identical to those obtained with the isotope washout technique. The standardized photoelectric technique is simple and rapid and gives only negligible discomfort to the patient allowing repeated measurements at different levels on the leg.