What Is Currently the Role of TcPO2 in the Choice of the Amputation Level of Lower Limbs? A Comprehensive Review

Some patients still require major amputation for lower extremity peripheral arterial disease treatment. The purpose of pre-operative amputation level selection is to determine the most distal amputation site with the highest healing probability without re-amputation. Transcutaneous oximetry (TcPO2) can detect viable tissue with the highest probability of healing. Several factors affect the accuracy of TcPO2; nevertheless, surgeons rely on TcPO2 values to determine the optimal amputation level. Background about the development of TcPO2, methods of measurement, consequences of lower limb amputation level, and the place of TcPO2 in the choice of the amputation level are reviewed herein. Most of the retrospective studies indicated that calf TcPO2 values greater than 40 mmHg were associated with a high percentage of successful wound healing after below-knee-amputation, whereas values lower than 20 mmHg indicated an increased risk of unsuccessful healing. However, a consensus on the precise cut-off value of TcPO2 necessary to assure healing is missing. Ways of improvement for TcPO2 performance applied to the optimization of the amputation-level are reported herein. Further prospective data are needed to better approach a TcPO2 value that will promise an acceptable risk of re-amputation. Standardized TcPO2 measurement is crucial to ensure quality of data.