Primary infragenicular angioplasty for diabetic neuroischemic foot ulcers following the angiosome distribution: a new paradigm for the vascular interventionist?

The angiosome principle was first described by Jan Taylor in 1987 in the plastic reconstructive surgery field, providing useful information on the vascular anatomy of the human body. Specifically concerning foot and ankle pathology, it may help the clinician to select better vascular access and specific strategies for revascularization. This knowledge may be particularly beneficial when treating diabetic neuroischemic foot wounds associated with particularly aggressive atherosclerotic disease and a poor collateral circulation. The implementation of angiosome-based strategies in diabetic infragenicular vascular reconstruction may afford encouraging wound healing and limb preservation rates using both bypass and endovascular techniques. The minimal invasiveness of these novel strategies enables us to perform more specific and more distal tibial and/or foot arterial reconstructions, in one or multiple targeted vessels. This paper reviews the available literature on this revascularization strategy and focuses on the potential benefit of angiosome-guided primary angioplasty for diabetic ischemic foot ulcers.